The little traveler

Southwest Airlines . I went up that ladder
many times. Seemed like it was 50ft high!

I used to go see my mom every summer. This was the way I traveled. Southwest Airlines. I think I may have started flying around six. Flying was great. The roar of the engines, the rumbling of the tires as the plane taxied down the runway, the feeling of sinking into your seat and then a lighter than normal feeling. It was pretty exciting. Being a young traveler also meant special privileges. I was usually the first on and the last one off.  The friendly attendants were very nice. Very pretty too. They would talk to me during the whole flight. They kept me well supplied with the little bags of honey roasted peanuts and all the soda I could drink. As the young kids would say, I was pimpin' . Yeah, right. Flying on a regular basis, I saw a lot of familiar faces. I can't tell you exactly how many sets of little plastic wings I got. I saw the cockpit a lot of times too. The pilots were always very nice too. The best thing about flying was escape. Even if it was just for a hour, it was freedom. I loved going to my mom's. I made the best of it I could knowing that I would eventually have to go back home when the time was up. Some times it was a short visit. Other times it was longer. We never talked about life with my dad. I just pretended like things were great. It kind of seems like I was either told or made aware not to bother her with anything that happened. That would just make me look like a complainer. Besides, no one likes a tattle-tale.

My mom, me and
Willie's girls Noel and Kristie

My mom had remarried and her new husband was okay. He tried to do stuff with me, but I just didn't warm up to him. I wasn't rude or at least I don't remember being rude. I just remembered he loved baseball or softball or maybe just sports. I think he tried to get me to play catch with him, but quickly gave up. Playing catch was totally foreign to me. I remember he worked a lot, came home and unwound with a beer while watching TV, and listened to country music. I don't remember him being a heavy drinker,  but it seems like he had a can of Burgie Beer in his hand all the time. Maybe it was the same can. I don't really know. They seemed to be pretty happy. He had a couple of daughters who lived with their mother. Many visits were set up so they would be there when I was. One daughter was a year younger than me and the other was about three or four years older. The older one acted a lot younger due to having cerebral palsy. So the three of us just kind of hung out and became buddies during the summers. My mom had a silver Vega with black vinyl seats. The seats had this basket weave design that would stick to your skin no matter what the weather. When it was cold, it would cling to you. When it was hot, it was like sitting on a waffle iron. She always kept a clean towel on the seat, but it never stayed put. She tried, but we still got burnt and had the waffle print on the back of our legs. We took trips to get ice cream, TG&Y, Zody's, and some other places that are no longer around. TG&Y always had flip flops, swimming trunks, Hot Wheels, Off Bug Spray and all the other summer time necessities. If they didn't have it, Zody's would.

Me and Spike

I remember their dog. His name was Spike. Biggest dog I ever saw. I thought he'd eat me when I first met him, but he was actually pretty nice. There was also Simba the Cat. My dad didn't like animals so this was pretty cool. I had the girls and the pets to keep me company during my visits. Time went by way too fast. Before I knew it, it was time to come back home. Well, at least I got to fly again.