WARMER DAYS... on to Florida (Part 156a)

WARMER DAYS… on to Florida (Part 156a)

Easter was especially late this year… April 14th. Because of it the school had broken what they called the ‘Spring Break’ up and instead of one week off they gave the kids (and teachers) the day after Presidents day and four days in and around Easter. It started with Good Friday and continued the first three days after Easter. The reason I mention this is that it did make the fact that we’d be away the week after Easter a little easier for Elle’s mother when it came time to getting the older two girls off to school. But, it did create a bit of a problem as far as making flight arrangements had been concerned. For us to be able to afford to fly we needed to take what in those days was called “The Red Eye”, leaving late at night and arriving very early the following morning. I’d given my father our arrival time so that end was covered. Cliffy (the race car driver) had agreed to drive us to the airport and to pick us up upon our return so as Easter morning arrived I felt confident with our arrangements.

Naturally, with three young kids, the Easter Bunny made his arrival and we started the day with searching for colored eggs. There was no Sunday school so we all went to the main, 10am, service. AS those of you who have been following this tome, you know I hated to go at 10am because it took so long and, with this being Easter, it took longer. Family traditions dictated that we have Thanksgiving dinner with my parents and Easter with Elle’s parents. Our plan was to bring all the clothes and other necessary items for the kids when we came to eat. After our traditional fresh ham dinner, with all the ‘fixings’ that go with it, I unloaded the station wagon only to find that I’d left the box with Kaye’s toys behind. So, it was back to the house to get it. By the time we left Elle’s parents it was close to 5pm.

Elle had been laying out clothes she wanted to take on the spare bed in Anne’s room for over a week. I’d not paid any attention and figured that when I added my own things we could thin some of them out if necessary. We’d only been in the house for a few minutes when the phone rang. It was the airline… with bad news. Due to heavy travel volume due to Easter they had to make some changes in their schedule and had been trying to reach us all day. Our flight had been scheduled to leave after midnight and was now moved up to leave around 10pm. Talk about panic! Cliffy had told us he’d pick us up at 9pm and, based on the three hours travel time to the airport, he now had to pick us up at 7pm… only two hours away… and I had to get in touch with Cliffy. On top of that I still had to pack our suitcase.

First things first is what my grandfather always preached. Cliffy was the main ingredient so I made a number of calls to track him down. He wasn’t too pleased with the news but said he be at the house by7pm. As I remember it I only had an hour to gather my clothes and things I wanted to take an to pack them along with Elle’s clothes. I was going crazy because as I was rejecting some of Elle’s clothing choices she was yelling at me about why she needed them. I definitely remember glancing at my watch as I was stuffing things in the bag and then having to sit on it to get the two sides to latch. I’d given no thought to what I was going to wear on the flight and was trying to decide when I saw headlights coming up the driveway.

Elle, mad at me for yelling at her, was downstairs in the den. I came flying down the stairs telling her to grab a coat and whatever else she could and to get outside immediately. I stood with the keys in the door knowing there were things that we were leaving behind but Cliffy was blinking his headlights telling me to hurry up. I turned the key and headed down the path with the suitcase and it was heavy! Throwing it in the back of Cliffy’s station wagon I didn’t remember it being that heavy carrying it down the stairs.

Cliffy tried to make conversation but Elle was still mad at me. I was deep in thought about just what it was I’d forgotten. I started going through the most necessary things… plane tickets; wallet and money; phone number to reach my parents if needed; bathing suit… After doing it I felt a little better and asked Cliffy when he was going to start working on the race car. When he said he’d been working on it for weeks I was surprised and asked why he hadn’t called. His answer was even more surprising when he asked why I hadn’t stopped by the garage. He didn’t say it in a mean manner but I was a bit hurt by it anyway.

The traffic was tolerable, according to Cliffy, and he indicated that we’d be at the terminal with time to spare. He explained that it was hard to judge how congested it would be around any holiday so he always built in extra time. As we pulled up I told him I’d confirm our return arrival time by phone . We were scheduled to be back Friday night but with the last minute change in departure time for this flight I didn’t want him to end up waiting for a flight that might not come. I remember looking at my watch and seeing we had about 45 minutes until departure (remember, this was way before the TSA stuff). We checked in and made our way to the gate. What I remember most was in seeing so many people at the airport after 9pm on a Sunday night. “Red Eye” flights were the only discount fares of the day.

To be continued...