Biblically speaking, Abraham was all of 75 years old when he made the hike from Ur to Canaan, a distance of maybe 400 miles. So even at our age, we should be okay in modern conveyances, right? Well, it’s a different story from years ago. Just getting out of the house rivals the challenge of childbirth. Then, the airport. Our bodies resist the necessary speed walking that used to come so effortlessly.
Then that little trip-ups begin to emerge. I notice that I have forgotten to use and pack my deodorant. My apologies to my fellow passengers in seats 19 D and F. I’ll keep my arms down. We realize that we had abandoned a fresh cup of coffee in the bus terminal. No big deal, but it was in a signature mug. False starts and spills along the way are made more poignant by younger observers whose facial expressions seem to indicate the sighting of a couple of prehistoric creatures. I can read their minds. “Why are these ancient ones still roaming the earth?” I quell the urge to remind them, “Just wait, honey. Your turn will come.” They wouldn’t believe me anyway.
Airport security lines seem interminably long. No shoe removal for the elderly, but a boarding pass is left in a bin. Not a show stopper, we learn, after a slight siege of panic. And the dream of a leisurely airport breakfast is shattered by closed restaurants and long lines at Dunkin’ and Starbucks. That first cup of coffee, so essential to brain function, is finally snagged from an obscure row of pumper pots along the way. Slowly, our heads clear. We begin to speak in civil tones. We grab a breakfast sandwich and move along to our gate. We are launched, however feebly. We are still upright and moving around in our world.
Tragedy will strike in two forms when we reach our destination. I will discover the loss of my driver’s license somewhere in the cracks of Seat 19E on Delta flight 320. Maybe it was the lack of deodorant? And one computer was left in a TSA bin. Miraculously, it was retrieved, due to the kind ministrations of a TSA hero named Bill. When we unpack tonight, we will discover all the other stuff we forgot at home.
Home again, and the laptop is safely retrieved from TSA in Boston. The driver’s license is found and mailed to the tune of $15, after I order a new one. But it is all worth it. Precious time with family I had not seen for years. Perfect weather in the exquisite beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Memories tucked away for the cold winter days ahead. Will we travel again? I hope so!
