I was anxious to say the least, because I was fearful that Quik would get back early and the game would be up. But soon the kid came back. I grabbed my duffle, threw it in the back seat of his car, and we split. About a half a mile from the house, I saw Quik approaching, and then pass. I turned to watch as he continued on down the street. He didn't turn around.
We got to the airport, I bought my ticket for a flight which wasn't going to leave for a few hours, so I went into one of the lounges near my flight gate and got a bite to eat. It was the least expensive meal I could find on the menu, good 'ol bacon wrapped chopped sirloin. The wait for the flight was endless it seemed, but eventually, it came time to leave. I boarded the plane, found my seat, and waited. A gentleman sat down in the aisle seat (I had the window seat and there was a vacant seat between us), and must have noticed my nervousness. He asked if I'd flown much. My first time I told him. He said he had flown the trip many times in the past and there was nothing to fear.
No sooner than we had taken off, it seemed we were landing. The flight was a piece of cake. That was the first time I had ever flown, and to this day it was also the last. My only regret regarding the flight was that it was at night. There was nothing to see outside of the window except the blackness of night.
Got to the Denver airport, picked up my duffle and awaited a taxi to come and pick me up to take to the bus station. I had to call one; guess the night traffic is too slow to sit out there and wait for customers at that time of night if you drive a taxi for a living. There was only one time, while sitting there waiting for my ride that I felt imperiled. A black guy asked me if I was interested in scoring. He told me we could do the deal in the restroom. I declined the offer. Struck me as a good way to get into trouble. He persisted for awhile, but eventually gave up the idea and went about his way.
The taxi arrived, and took me to the bus station where I waited again for about four or five hours before I could board a bus going to CO Springs. My aunt lived there, and I needed to borrow some money again to get me the rest of the way to KS. My aunt picked me up at the bus station after I arrived and took me back to her home in a ritzy part of town in the foothills outside of CO Springs. It took me a while to get around to asking her again. Asking anybody for money, even in the most dire of straits, is one of the hardest of things for me personally to do. It is so humiliating. But I finally asked.
I'm going to let Alan (my young cousin) loan you the money. Oh great, I thought, she is really sticking me with a guilt trip here. My cousin was only about 5 at the time. But I needed the money, and I agreed (I borrowed $40, and paid back $45). My aunt was a widow. My uncle was a colnel in the airforce and had died of some strange illness a few years prior to my visit. As luck would have it, or to further my own personal humiliation, my grandparents were enroute to visit my aunt, something they had been doing frequently since my grandfather had remarried, and my aunt had been a widow. Of course, unbeknownced to my grandparents, their oldest grandchild was in CO Springs.
I played with my cousin for the day, crashed that night, and my grandfather took me to catch the same bus which had dropped me off enroute to CO Springs. I was on my way home.
Through the whole adventure, I never ran out of money, never found myself in any life threatening situations where I was actually afraid for my life, never had any problems with the law, and any time I needed help, somehow help was there, Does anybody besides me believe in guardian angels? I have no doubt what-so-ever, I think mine worked overtime in the '80's.
End of adventure (mostly) <g>
Sleep well. |
