The Gang's All Here

I hate to fly.
Have I ever told you that?
We had a family reunion...

... and I flew. Both ways. And not on my broomstick either!  But something was different this time.
I didn’t worry.
I’ve given my life to God. If it was my time to make my courtly appearance before our mighty Lord, than nothing — no amount of fretting or worry — could keep me from my appointment. I did however, console myself with the thought that at least it wouldn’t hurt for very long! And I did entertain thoughts of what the newscast would look like, the announcement of how many died, and they always break out how many of those were crew and children. Sometimes they have pictures, and you wonder at the lives cut short. Have I done everything I want to do? I wondered. Then I realized at this point — it didn’t matter. So I put all my worries and fears aside, turned on my Nook and got busy writing Country Life, my last blog.
But to start this story I need to back up a little.
My older and very handsome brother David has cancer.

About three years ago he had his kidney removed and now the cancer is back and in his lungs. On September 15th the call went out for an impromptu family reunion and it would take place in just three weeks time. In Galveston. That's in Texas. Hence, the airplane ride.
“Everyone’s going to be there except Charles,” Momma told me on the phone as plans were being made.
“Why not?” I asked.
“Because he won’t come,” she said of my reclusive older brother.
“Did anyone ask him?” I wondered aloud.
“Well, no. But I’m sure he won’t come.”
“Momma! I never make up anyone’s mind for them. How do you know he won’t come if you don’t ask him?” The wheels in my mind started churning. “I’m going to ask Rick to stop up and talk to him. We can get him a ticket on the same flight with his brothers and he won’t have to travel alone.”
“Well, if he would come,” Momma said and I could hear that I had instilled some hope in her.
Later that day when I talked to my cute little redheaded brother, I asked, “Would you stop up and talk to Charles? Ask if he’d come if we arranged everything?”
“I’ll try,” Rick answered but he didn’t sound hopeful at all that Charles would come.

One of the next few times that I talked to Momma she was excited when she answered my phone call. “Charles is coming!” she said and I could tell she was smiling. You really can hear a smile on the telephone.
“That’s great!” I enthused. Despite my optimistic outlook, I didn’t really think he’d come either.
A few days later came the huge let down. “Charles gave up his driver’s license years ago because he can’t see very well. He doesn’t have any ID to get on an airplane with,” Momma told me.
“Can he get a photo ID?” I asked.
“In all of his moves he’s lost his birth certificate, so I don’t see how we can make it work.”
She was right. Getting a new birth certificate takes time and our time was running short. “We gave it a good try though, didn’t we Momma?”
“Yes. And the fact that he was even willing to come surprised me.”
And we resigned ourselves to everyone being there, except Chuck.
A few days later, in a phone conversation with Rick, he tells me, “John got Charles a photo ID.”
“How did he do that?” I asked.
“They pulled up his driver’s license from ten years ago and gave him one. It doesn’t even look like what Chuck looks like today,” he paused. “But don’t say anything just yet. Until he actually gets on that airplane I don’t know that he’s going to go. We don’t want to disappoint Mom again.”

Rick was in charge of picking Charles up and getting to the airport on time. “‘Be ready by 4:30,’ I told Chuck,” and Rick laughed at the memory as he told this to me. “I got there at 4:00 thinking he would say he wasn’t going. That would be just like Chuck. But he was packed and sitting outside waiting for me!”
My brothers are the true hero’s of the day. Between Rick and John they made it possible for Chuck to attend the reunion and Momma was going to be so surprised!

And my brothers are humble too. “Rick did more than I did,” said John.
“John did more than I did,” said Rick.
Hero’s. Both of them.

Here’s Momma. We lost our dad years ago.

   And Patti, the oldest.

   Charles is the next oldest because we lost our two brothers in between them.

Then it’s David.

And me.

Richard.

Phyllis.

Paul.

Diane.

And John, the baby of the family.

We are a handsome family, don’t you think?
The reunion was fabulous. We could have planned for a year and someone wouldn’t have been able to come. But put out the call that one of us was in need — and we were all there — on short notice no less.
I’ve spoken with my brothers and sisters since then and asked, “What was your favorite thing about the reunion?”
“It was just great to all be together again.”
“Talkin’ and tellin’ stories was so much fun.”
“I loved it all!”
“Charles being there and enjoying himself.”
And Charles said the best thing about the trip for him was, “Surprising Mom.”
Charles. My reclusive older brother. This was the farthest he’s ever been from home and his first plane ride. “It was alright,” he said.
Besides all of those things, the food and hospitality at David’s house was STUPENDOUS! (That means impressively great.)

Now, do you want to hear about my trip?
Earlier in the week of my trip Mike and I made a shopping trip to Athens and our local Wal*Mart store. I picked up some travel size toothpaste and deodorant for my trip as well as our weekly groceries. On the way home we stopped at a roadside market where I picked up my favorite buttercup squash, which is a deep green winter squash with orange flesh and has a nutty flavor. They were only a dollar each and if you store them right, will stay good for months, although mine won’t last that long!
“Momma, you are going to be so jealous!” I told her on the phone the next day.
“Oh, ho, ho!” she says. “You like to make me jealous, don’t you?”
I guess the glee was obvious in my voice so I couldn’t deny it. “Yes!”
“Well go ahead.”
“I picked up four buttercup squash from the roadside stand!” I got my love for this particular squash from her.

“Oooohhh!” she bemoaned.
And if that wasn’t torment enough, I added, “I baked one for dinner last night and it was sooooo good!”
“Put one in your suitcase and bring it with you,” she said.
Well, I said I would but I was hesitant. “What if they think it’s a bomb?” I asked my oldest and much loved sister.
She laughed. “They’ll open your suitcase and look. But you’d be surprised at how well they can identify things with their scanners.”
Friday morning comes and I got up and got busy packing. I didn’t want to forget anything. Rosaries for Momma, the stories I had sitting here printed and not yet mailed, her squash. I had things I wanted to take for Kandyce too as well as all the things I would need for my trip. A couple changes of clothes, toil trees —NO! you silly spell check. Toiletries! Nook charger, phone charger, extra memory card for my camera, camera charger, GPS for my drive to Galveston from Houston. Don’t forget the GPS. It was in the glove box of the car. I was worried I would get out of the Jeep and forget it.
“Mike, don’t let me forget the GPS,” I told him. Two heads are better than one.
“Where is it?”
“In the glove box of the Jeep.”
“The new GPS?” he asked.
“No. That one’s in the RV. I was going to take the old one. It’s smaller.”
“Why don’t you take the new one? It’s got updated maps on it.”
“Houston and Galveston have been there for a long time,” I told him. “It’ll be fine. Besides the small one won’t take up as much room in my purse.”
I showered shortly before our scheduled departure from the house, dried my hair and reached for my deodorant. I might just as well start on the travel size one, I thought to myself. I’ll never use it all up in three days. Besides, who wants a partial dinky travel size deodorant hanging around? With lists and reminders still running through my head, I absentmindedly pulled the top and gave each underarm a quick swipe, replaced the top, put it in a baggie with my facial moisturizer, and toothpaste, and dropped them into my carryon suitcase.
“Ready?” Mike asked.
“Yup,” I said zippering the case shut. Mike picked up my bag and I picked up my purse and glasses as we made our way through the house to the Jeep. Thoughts of the GPS still in the forefront of my mind, I opened the center console box as I climbed in and picked up the GPS.
No power cord.
Doggone it!
“Where’s the power cord?” was on my lips to ask Mike but after putting my bag in the wayback, he’d gone back in to lock up the house. Then I remember the new GPS uses the same cord as the old GPS so we never unpacked the new one, continuing instead, to just keep using the old one. It was in the RV. I climbed out of the Jeep and crossed the yard to the barn, where the RV was parked. I opened the door, turned on the power and went to the front. There, on the dash, sat the new GPS and Dash Cam Pro. I picked up the GPS but there was no power cord attached to it. I found the power cord and joined Mike in the Jeep.
“I might just as well take the new one since I have it,” I said to Mike and stuffed it and the power cord in my bag.
“It’s not that much bigger than the old one,” Mike said. Our Jeep has a built in GPS and Mike’s fingers poked the familiar buttons. “What’s the address of the airport?”
Gasp! “It’s on my computer.” I made to get out of the Jeep.
“You didn’t write it down?”
“Yes I wrote it down. It’s on a sticky note on my computer!” I swear! Sometimes I think I’d forget my head if it weren’t screwed on!
The trip to the Wilkes-Barre airport was uneventful. Mike made sure I got to my flight several hours early, which suited me just fine. I’d rather be three hours early for my flight than three minutes late. Besides, I had my Nook and a story to write so my wait time would be productive.
At the airport Mike and I had lunch. Mike loves a good hamburger and the hamburger he had at the airport was really good! I had a chicken sandwich and it was good. Oh, and did I mention I had a glass of wine too? No? Well, strictly to calm my nerves. I still don’t like to fly.
Mike hugged and kissed me outside the security area. It was all the further he could go.
“Don’t forget. If my plane crashes, I love you!” I told him. “And Kandyce gets my library.”
He laughed. “Your plane’s not going to crash. Flying is the safest mode of travel there is,” he said and not for the first time either.
I found my gate and settle in to work on my story. I’d worked on it for quite a while before I realized my battery was getting low. If I wanted to work on it on the airplane, I needed to find a power outlet to plug into. I pulled out my charger from my bag and made my way to an outlet on the wall.
“There’s one right here,” a nice lady said, guessing my intentions.
I turned to her and she showed me a power strip right beside her seat. I took the seat next to her and plugged my Nook in. “I had no idea there was one here,” I said. “Thank you!”
“I didn’t know either until the attendant told me.”

<<<<<>>>>>

The lights, as we came in over Chicago, were pretty and I wanted to share them with you. This is as good as it gets.

The Chicago airport is huge and lined with shops, bars and restaurants. I didn’t have any trouble finding my next gate and I hunkered down for my three hour wait. Between working on my story and people watching, the time went fast
It was midnight when we landed in Houston and they have lots of bars, restaurants and shops in that airport too, but at this time of night, few were open.
I’d reserved a car online —
Oh my gosh! That reminds me! When I was making arrangements for this trip I was originally going to have someone pick me up at the airport. Then Mike and I realized it would inconvenience everyone terribly to make a midnight run to Houston from Galveston to pick me up.
“Just rent a car,” Mike said to me so I searched for rental cars online.
“Alamo has an compact for ten dollars a day!” I was shocked I could rent a car so cheap.
“You should get something better than an compact car,” Mike said.
“They have a mid-size for twelve, and a full-size for fifteen.”
“You should get a full size in case you have to drive other people around.”
I started through the process of reserving a car and the directions for getting to the rental car center said I had to get on a shuttle. “I have to leave the airport?” I asked Mike but he didn’t know. So I called Alamo.
LOL. (Me, laughing at the memory.)
“How much is it to rent a car?” I asked and gave her all the details.
“We can get you a full size car for fifty-two dollars a day, unlimited miles,” the nice lady said to me. “So for your three days in Galveston, it comes to two hundred blah, blah, blah.” I stopped listening.
“Really?” I said. “Can I get a better deal if I reserve it online?” I asked.
“No, that’s pretty much it,” she said.
“Okay, well, is the rental center right at the airport?”
“Yes it is,” she replied.
“Thank you so much,” I gushed. “I appreciate your help, but I think I’ll look around a little.”
I went back to the internet and reserved a full size car for fifteen dollars a day, unlimited miles.
With my email confirmation of the rental car, they sent me directions. Go past the baggage claim area and board the shuttle.

I did this and when I get past the baggage claim area I see a sign for rental cars pointing to the left. I went left and ended up outside. There’s a sign that says Rental Cars but there weren’t any rental cars there. There was a bus. The driver was standing outside. I guess my confusion as to what I was supposed to do was evident on my face.
“Can I help you?” she asked.
“I’m looking for the rental car center?”
“I can help you with that,” she said and reached for my bag. I gave it to her and followed her onto the bus where she tossed it on the luggage racks. Two or three more people piled in, then we were off. The rental car center may technically be at the airport but it was like a seven minute bus ride away.
At the rental car center we all piled off and I followed the signs to the Alamo desk. They were closed. See attendant at National for Alamo car rentals, the sign read and pointed to the open counter next door. I took my place in line and thought, Fat lot of good it did me using the express check-in online. During my wait in line I watched as a couple off to the side waited; for what? I didn’t know. The line was moving pretty good when one of the three clerks came around the counter and approached the couple.
“I’m still waiting for a return phone call on that,” I overheard him tell them. I got the impression, as the line progressed, that they had lost something and thought it was left in the rental car.
My turn came and I signed all the papers and gave up my credit card.
“Go through the doors and up the stairs. See the attendant at the top,” he told me. But I already knew that. I’d heard the same instructions given to everyone who had gone before me.
When I got to the top of the stairs and up to the booth, the attendant was just telling someone one to, “…pick any car from this row, this row, or this row,” and indicated the rows. Then she turned to help the next in line which wasn’t me. I waited until she finished then she told them, a family of five, to pick from the same three rows. When it was my turn I handed her my papers and I too could choose any car from the first three rows. “The key is on dash,” she said. “You’ll have to show your driver’s license at the gate.” I walked out to the edge of the lot and looked the cars over. All of the trunks were open and ready for you to throw your luggage in. The family ahead of me had chosen the second car in the middle row, some SUV type thing. I should just take the first car, I thought, because I didn’t recognize any of the cars, but I walked on deciding to look the stock over. I get to the end and turn around to come back when I see a familiar brand.
A Jeep! It was a Cherokee but at least it was something I recognized. I went over, opened the driver’s side door and thought I should put my suitcase in the back before I get in. Instead I decided to sit in the driver’s seat and see how much it was like our Jeep. I barely had a chance to look around before the smell hit me. It stank. I got out and shut the door. I took the handle of my little rolly carryon suitcase and headed back down the row. I get the whole way back to where I had started and nothing struck my fancy.
I might just as well take the first one, I thought and walked over to the first car in the row, the one I thought I should’ve taken to begin with.
It’s an Impala, I read the name on the side of the car. That’s a good car, I thought and tossed my suitcase in the open trunk, slammed it shut and climbed into the driver’s seat. I tossed my bag onto the passenger seat, picked up the key from the dash, inserted it into the ignition and started the car. It had less than 500 miles on it. It was a new car! I didn’t have to adjust the seat; it was in the perfect position for me, and that surprised me. This car has a built in navigation system too, I saw, but I didn’t pay the extra twelve dollars a day for GPS. It probably won’t work, I thought. I dug in my bag and started pulling things out until I found the GPS and power cord I’d brought with me. It’s funny how whatever you’re looking for ends up in the bottom of your bag. Then I went looking for an outlet to plug it into. I searched high and I searched low. I searched and searched! In the dim light of the parking garage I could not find one anywhere! Don’t tell me the new Impalas don’t have a cigarette lighter!
I think I finally did locate an outlet in one of the glove boxes, but I don’t remember now. I had another problem. When I tried to plug the power cable into the GPS, it wouldn’t go. I looked at the plug and I could see it wasn’t the right one. I turned it over and tried to plug it in anyway. I’m not one to give up easily.
It has to fit!
But it didn’t.

I tried it at least three times! Who knows, maybe something will change and it will magically work. That was just wishful thinking though. Nothing changed. It simply wasn’t the right plug. I must have gotten the cord for the Dash Cam Pro, I thought and kicked myself for not making sure I had the right one before I left the house. It looks the same as my Nook, I thought and pulled my Nook cable from my purse. I was right, it fit. But now I had no USB to plug the other end into. There might have been one of those someplace in the Impala too but I didn’t really spend any time looking for it. I didn’t think my Nook cord would power the GPS.
Sigh.
I resigned myself to renting a GPS. I turned the car off, and knowing I’d need my purse, I started putting all the stuff I’d pulled out back into it. Then I felt the seat to make sure I didn’t miss anything and I found a phone on the seat. Not my phone but one of those new iPhones.
I wonder if that’s what that couple lost, I thought. I climbed out of the Impala and locked the door with the key. I had gone no more than two steps when a car pulls up behind me. A young girl climbs out.
“Excuse me, are you taking this car?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“Did you happen to find a phone?”
I smiled and held up her phone. “This one?”
Her smile showed her relief. “Yes!”
I handed it to her and she took it with a big, “Thank you!”
“You’re welcome. I was just on my way inside to turn it in.” Half true. I was on my way in to rent a GPS and I would’ve turned the phone in at the same time.
“I was going to take that car first and I called my mom. Then I changed my mind and I must have put my phone down. I didn’t miss it until I was on the road and I went to call my mom and tell her I was on my way and I couldn’t find my phone.”
I asked her where she was headed but I don’t remember where it was she said. All I know is it wasn’t Galveston.
I went up to the attendant at the booth. “Where can I rent a GPS?” I asked.
“You can go back in to the desk or you can get one at the gate,” she told me.
Then I admitted what I had done. “I brought one with me but I didn’t bring
the right power cord.”
“In some of the cars you can plug your phone in and some still have GPS in them.”
“Really?” I was interested.
“I think the Impalas do, but I don’t know if there are any of them left.”
“I’ve got an Impala,” I said.
She walked out with me and sat in the driver’s seat to see if she could pull up the navigation but she wasn’t having any luck. “I’ll fool with it a little,” I told her. “Thank you so much for your help.” And she went back to her job.
On the dash I poked the navigation button on the screen. It told me to hook up my device or call OnStar. I didn’t have a device to plug into it so I called OnStar. If they charged me, I’d just have to pay for it.
“OnStar. This is Edward. How may I help you?”
“Navigation please.”
“Certainly. Give me a moment to pull up your co-ordinates.” I waited. “I see you are at the airport. Where are you going?”
I gave him the address for the hotel in Galveston. “Thank you. I’m sending it to your car now. Anything else I can help you with?”
“No thank you Edward. You’re awesome!”
“Thank you for choosing OnStar.”
The first thing the GPS tells me to do is exit the lot and head north. Yeah. Which direction do you think north is? My GPS would also have a magenta colored line showing me which way to turn. This one only said to head north.
I get to the exit gate and passed my driver’s license to the booth attendant. “Did they give you a paper?” he asked.
I handed across my car rental agreement. “How do I get on the highway to Galveston?” I asked.
He handed my papers and license back to me. “Go left then take a left.”
I hoped those scanty instructions would become clear as I drove. The gate went up and I thanked him and drove through. At the first stop sign, I made a left. At the next stop sign I made another left, then the GPS started talking to me and I didn’t make any mistakes as I drove through the light traffic to Galveston.
Thank you Lord, I sang right out loud. You take care of me even when I don’t know I need taken care of! I was referring to my luck in choosing the right car, but later I was to learn that the light traffic was also a blessing.
I arrive at the hotel around two thirty; twenty minutes to three. There wasn’t anyone behind the desk when I walked in but I heard the TV playing in the breakfast room. The sound dropped and a young man walked through the doorway.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“I’m tired,” were the first words out of my mouth. He went behind the desk. “I think my sister reserved a room for me.”
“What’s the name?”
I gave him my name but he didn’t find anything. “Try my sister’s name,” and I gave it to him.
“Yes. Here it is. Room 308.” He had my paper work for a late check-in set to the side, waiting for me. “Here you go,” he said and handed me the card key he had ready.
“Thank you,” I said. “Where do I park?”
“Go down the driveway and take a right. There’s a parking garage and you can enter through the glass doors.
“Thank you,” I said, took my room key and left.
I pulled away from the front entry, took a right and found the parking garage. There weren’t any empty spaces and I exited out the other end. The weather, even in the middle of the night in Galveston, was beautiful. I parked under the stars, got my suitcase from the trunk and walked back to the glass doors. It was locked. Then I noticed the sign. These doors are kept locked for security. Insert your room key to gain entry. I pulled my room key from my hip pocket, inserted it into the slot and pulled it out. The light went green and I pulled on the door. It opened. In the small foyer were a set of elevators. Only one button. Up. I poked it and the elevator door opened immediately. Inside I hit the button for the third floor and it was forever before the door shut — even though I was poking the door close button like crazy! On the third floor I read the sign that indicated which way which rooms were. Mine was to the left. I went left and it was the first door on the right. Believe it or not, I was so relieved! I wanted nothing more than to fall into bed in a heap of exhaustion. I inserted my room key and pulled it out and — nothing. I should be getting a green light, or in the very least a red one, but I wasn’t getting anything. I stuck the key in the other way and pulled it out; jiggled the handle. Nothing. I tried the card key every which way to Sunday but nothing was happening. I’d have to go back down to the front desk.
Me and my carryon suitcase trundled our way back to the elevator. The doors opened immediately. I guess there isn’t any demand for a hotel elevator at two forty-five in the a.m. Inside the elevator I looked for the floor number with the big star on it. If I’ve learned anything in my limited travels it’s that the main lobby button is always marked with a big star. I poked the number one button and it took forever for the doors to close despite my attempts to override the wait by poking the door close button. At the lobby the attendant heard the elevator doors and came from the room with the TV.
“It doesn’t work,” I told him, holding up my card key.
“I’m sorry about that,” he said and reached for it. I handed it over and he went behind the desk. Suitcase handle in one hand, I propped my other elbow onto his desk, very tired, and waited as he re-programmed my card key.
“There you are.”
I took the card key. “Thank you,” and back to the elevator I went. It was waiting for me and the door opened as soon as I pushed the up button. On the third floor I went back to my door and inserted the card key again. Nothing. I jiggled the handle. Nothing. Then I tried it fast and jiggled the handle. Nothing. And I tired it slow and jiggled the handle. Still nothing. I tired it upside down and backwards. Jiggle, jiggle. I was afraid I’d wake the other patrons. Nothing was working! I was so frustrated because I was just sure that it was my fault.
Sigh!
Me and my carryon went back to the elevator (which was still parked on my floor) and back to the front desk. This time the young man was still standing behind the counter. “I can’t make it work,” I said defeatedly. “Will you come and open the door for me?”
He took the time to make a master key then together we went to the third floor. At my door he tries my key. There was no light on the lock. No red and no green. “The battery must be dead. I don’t have a screwdriver to change it.”
I followed him back down to the front desk where he re-assigned me a different room then handed me a new card key. “Four-ten,” he said.
“Thank you,” I said, although I don’t know why I was thanking him for three exhausted trips to the front desk. The elevator was right where I left it and I went to the fourth floor this time. I turned right and my room was right there; first door on the left. I inserted the key; the light went green and the door opened when I pressed the handle. I closed the door, flipped the security lock, dug out my toothpaste and gave my teeth a quick scrub. I stripped off my clothes and dropped them in a pile at the end of the bed and crawled in, flopping down and asleep almost as soon as my head hit the pillow.
A few hours later I woke up and checked the time. Eight o’clock. I pulled on my clothes from the day before and made my way down to the lobby for coffee and a little breakfast.
And there was my family! My sisters and brothers and their spouses and kids and I felt so loved and so blessed as I hugged everyone!
“What’s the plan?” I asked my oldest sister Patti.
“I’m going to get Mom up in a little while, get her meds and breakfast, then we’ll all head out to David’s. It’s only a couple of blocks from here.”
Besides my brothers and sisters the only other family members who said they would be there was my youngest son, Kevin, his wife  Kandyce, and my grandson Andrew. They stayed at a different hotel. I texted Kevin and told him the day’s plan.

“Let me know when y’all leave for Uncle David’s,” he said.
I told him I would and I was excited to get to see them again.
When Patti headed up to get Momma up, I went back to my room for a shower and a fresh change of clothes. I got all my stuff around, showered and wrapped my hair in a towel. Then I pulled my little travel size deodorant from the bag, pulled the lid off and discovered there was a plastic shield on top. I was confused. I’d used it the day before — or thought I had.
“Didn’t you stink?” Momma asked me when I told her the story.
“Not that I know of.” However, historically, from time to time throughout the day I would be able to smell the scent of my Degree deodorant as it’s the only perfume I wear, and I did notice that I hadn’t smelled it at all on this trip.
Now I know why.
And with that, we will call this one done.
Next time, The Day After. My stupendous, wonderfulest, best day ever that I spent with the kids, plus more about the reunion. Maybe. I don’t know. I never know until I start writing what I’m going to write about.
Lots and lots of love to everyone. Y’all are in my heart.