My mom told me to dress in nice clothes, the clothes I wore on the plane to California.
I remember that we left the house quickly once the cab arrived. When we got into the cab my mom told the driver to take us to the airport. We were flying to our next place to live. Where, I still did not know. I was now a young teen boy without a memory of my recent past. I wondered if this was a form of trauma. I do not know what I was feeling.
We exited the cab and collected our luggage. A man put our luggage on a cart and walked with us to the check in counter. A lady at the counter spoke with my mom and then prepared our tickets. My mom and the lady were talking about where we were going to sit in the plane. Also, during their conversation, I finally learned our destination.
The man with our luggage passed it through to the man behind the counter. The lady who checked us in wished us a nice flight and provided some directions to where we needed to go in the terminal where we would board our plane to Miami, Florida.
I knew that I was about to experience something new since my last time flying on an airplane which was only a few weeks ago when I traveled by myself. That was a short flight over the mountains to California. This trip was going to be a long flight to the east coast. And I learned about time zones from this flight.
So, flying back in the sixties was a classy experience. You wore nice clothes. That is why my mom had me change my clothes before we left the house. I remember my mom was wearing a fancy dress, nice shoes, and a pearl necklace. She looked like a movie star. She was a classy lady for that time in the sixties. And I do remember that all the other ladies on the flight also looked like movie stars. The men wore suites. And that is how you dressed to fly.
The plane was big with many engines, four if I remember correctly. And it was a beautiful plane. The wings were huge. I heard someone say it was a 707. Maybe this is why I have the yearning to go back in time to fly on this incredible plane every time I hear the song “In the Early Morning Rain” by Gordon Lightfoot. A beautiful song that gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it.
The seats were very comfy as my mom described them. My mom and I sat next to each other in our own row. She let me have the window seat so I could look out. All the stewardesses were dressed alike in special uniforms. They treated me like a young gentleman and called me many endearing names. They made me feel special. They told me that I was a very cute boy.
After the plane took off and became level a stewardess came to see my mom and I. She said to my mom that they would be serving some drinks before lunch.
When lunch was served, I remember that the lunch tasted incredibly good. I also remember that our lunch was served on glass plates and the drink glasses were real glassware. And of course, the cutlery was made from real metal. This was a classy lunch in the air including the linen napkins. I felt special.
The stewardess took good care of me and my mom. It was like they knew our story and were there for us. They spent time with us since the plane wasn’t full of people.
During our flight my mom was mostly silent, especially when she was smoking a cigarette. Again, she wouldn’t talk to me except when she thought it was appropriate. I was now thinking that I had been the cause of all this. Yes, this is how I felt. Like, everything that had happened since we left Western North Carolina when I was eight years old was somehow my fault.
I will add that after she had several drinks she did begin to talk more. She really liked her screwdrivers.
I remember it was a long flight. The plane took off and landed several times at different airports during our journey. And every time we took off, we would be given more drinks and food when the plane was level.
I think one of the airports we landed at was in Georgia, or maybe it was Texas. I don’t fully remember all the details of the day. We were flying from Las Vegas to Miami, Florida. But I do remember it being a daylong journey.
When we arrived in Miami, Florida, my mom’s friend greeted us at the airport. I remember it was night. I didn’t remember meeting this person before, but my mom knew her very well. And from what I learned later as an adult, she was a good friend that had helped my mom out before during some challenging times.
Later in life when I was an adult, I learned just how my mom’s friend helped her during that challenging time and what the circumstance were. And it involved an unexpected sibling.
After we gathered our luggage, we headed to my mom’s friend’s car for our journey to her house. She lived in North Miami Beach. I was tired and fell asleep in the car. The outside air temperature was very warm and humid. The outside air was not like the desert air. I don’t remember asking how long we were going to be here. And if here was going to be our new home.
When we arrived at the house, I helped carry some luggage in. My mom’s friend had two sons and the older one helped with the luggage I couldn’t carry in. I was shown a small room that they called the sunroom. It was a converted porch with thin horizontal glass windows.
The room was cooled with an air conditioning unit stuck in one of the windows. This was new for me. There was no bed. There was a small sofa. And that would be my bed. A white sheet was draped across the sofa and there was a pillow.
I quickly positioned myself on the sofa falling to sleep within minutes.
The next morning, I woke up to a heavy pounding noise on the roof. It was raining very hard. My body was energetic but also sore. Now I would have to get used to the new time. I wondered what we would be doing today. I was feeling a bit lost and tired too. And then the younger son popped his head into the room and said, “Good morning. You ready for some breakfast?” I was very hungry. I said, “Yes”.
We went into the kitchen. He took some bacon, some eggs, and a bag of oranges out of the refrigerator. He told me to wash the oranges and then showed me how to squeeze them in the press and where to place the glass to catch the juice. His older brother came in and the three of us made breakfast. My task was a simple one.
Fresh orange juice…
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