Jan 1988: Visit Home

FROM "OZ" (AUSTRALIA) TO "KANSAS" (USA) AND BACK

Well, the day I had been dreading had finally arrived - the day

We were to leave for our trip back to the U.S. It was not that I didn't want to visit family and friends, but I was not looking forward to the trip, and the weather and hassle of the east coast. The day of our departure was typical of all of our departures - total chaos.

Our new cat had woken me up in the middle of the night by climbing up our bedroom screen. It was then that I discovered that this cat would only use kitty litter. I told Dorothy I did not find any humor in having to get up at night to let the cat in to go to the bathroom.

I rushed downtown that morning to buy another tray to put litter in outside hoping that the cat would not pester the guy staying in our house. I found out later that it didn't work. Other complications of the day were Dorothy's friend wanting to use the shower, a luncheon (with members of the Australian-American Association, and a panic and "domestic" (as Aussies call an argument between spouses) over a broken suitcase needed for the trip. After much "discussion" a quick trip to town ended up in heavy straps to be used to keep the suitcase closed. Our friends George and Shirley Brown arrived to take us to the airport and Shirley and Dorothy had to quickly go over some items on a paper Shirley is writing and which Dorothy is editing. Finally, we left for the airport where we were sent off by several friends to ensure no last minute turnback.

For unknown reasons we ended up in the first class section, and, thankfully, after the earlier part of the day, had a relaxed flight to Adelaide and then on to Melbourne. On that flight Dorothy sat between two guys who had just spent three months in the middle of nowhere working on a pipeline and the three of them talked nonstop all the way to Melbourne. Even the stewardess was feeling a bit silly that afternoon and announced our arrival by starting off "Ladies and Gentlemen and bald-headed babies…”

An Australian friend of mine who used to live in Alice Springs met us in Melbourne and took us to our motel. He managed to find it even though he wasn't sure where it was. We spent an enjoyable evening chatting with him in our motel room. The next day we went back to the Melbourne airport and there thought of several reasons why we couldn't get on the plane, but did anyway and flew to Sydney and then on to L.A. The latter flight was a long 13 and 1/2 hours. The smoke from the guys in back of us bothered us a lot and some baby cried about every 15 minutes throughout the entire trip.

We landed at LAX and I threw a slight fit at the United counter when I was informed I had no tickets for the next flight. It turns out that the agent in Melbourne had given me boarding passes and put them in my folder and had not told me - the tickets were attached to them - I had to apologize. (Dorothy's note - Jack was in error - a first.) Of course, when we got on the plane we found we had been assigned to nonexistent seats.

We flew nonstop to Newark, got a rental car and I drove out onto roads where people were driving on the wrong side of the road. We reached Dorothy's parents' apartment without incident, on the way passing through a section of large lovely homes, all of which were decorated for Christmas, primarily with white candles and wreaths.

Since Dorothy and I had not bought any presents for the boys, we spent the next day shopping. One observation we made was that quite a few cars had Christmas wreaths attached to their grills. Also, it took me a minute to figure out what the term "grave covers" meant for others that don't know it is Christmas greens to place on graves. The following day we drove to my parents in Hagerstown and then returned to N.J. the following day in time for Christmas. My boys had a good time in Hagerstown playing pool with my father.

Back in New Jersey, we did more shopping and one day the boys and I went to a movie to give Dorothy time to wrap packages, which she put under our bed. Dorothy's parents live in a one-bedroom apartment and when we visit Dorothy and I use their bed and the boys sleep on single beds in the same room. Well, that night I awoke and heard a strange noise, like paper rattling. I looked over and discovered Toby was not in his bed. He was "sleeping" on the floor right beside our bed. When I asked him what he was doing he said he was hot in his bed and the light was coming in the window. It was only a couple of days later that I mentioned the paper rattling sound and the fact that Christmas presents just happened to be right beside of him. There was a complete denial of any knowledge or plan on his part…

Christmas day was very warm. We opened presents, had a very good dinner and went out that evening to see the Christmas lights. The next day we took the bus into New York City. We walked through Macy's, tried to go a big camera store, which was closed since it was Saturday and was owned by Orthodox Jews. We walked up Broadway to Times Square and down 42nd street to 5th Avenue. We saw a garbage truck that also had a Christmas wreath attached to its grill. We went in a number of camera stores (for Dwight's benefit), including one called "Toby's." The boys kept track of the number of horse drawn coaches, limousines and Porsches. After dragging Dwight out of the Nikon display store at Rockefeller Plaza, we ate at a very nice McDonalds under the Time/Life building. It was decorated in an Art Deco style, was popular with NYC policemen and had polite help at the counter. From there we walked past Radio City Music Hall (we did not even attempt to go a show - tickets are now $24 and there is not even a movie anymore), Rockefeller Center and saw people skating on the ice rink. We looked at Christmas displays in Saks and Lord & Taylors, walked back to the bus station and caught the bus back to N.J. There were homeless people all over the Port Authority (bus station) and panhandling was continual. The weather in New York was damp and the wind was blowing, so the cold got to me. I was glad to get on the bus. On the way out of the city, we saw a huge backup of traffic trying to get into the city through the Lincoln tunnel. I don't know what the cause was.

The next day we drove to Alexandria, Virginia, encountering a 6- mile backup to pay the toll on the Jersey turnpike. We moved in with the family across the street from our house and had a delightful two-week stay with them. The McDonalds made us feel right at home and treated us like family. I have always kidded Mrs. Mac that she is my second Mom especially when she is giving me constructive criticism about my yard work. Mr. "Mac" enjoyed sharing his thick slices of bologna with Toby, and Mrs. Mac said she' would heat up something for us whenever we wanted something to eat (or as she said - she would "nuke" it in the microwave). Mrs. Mac has diabetes and we all cringed at the sight of her sticking her finger and giving her shots so she always hid to do that. She did ask her doctor her fingers if she had to continue to stick her finger four times a day - they were all sore. He said she did. So she told him that the readings, she had to make on her blood were always lower when she borrowed one of her husband's fingers!

They have a dog named Gumdrop which hates the mailman and whose big treat of the day is ripping up the junk mail when-it is given to her. The boys enjoyed staying their stay there. Dwight nicknamed Mrs. Mac, "McGrandma." Toby spent a lot of time being a "couch potato" sitting in one of their recliners watching TV and snacking. One of the boys' favorite snacks was "nuked popcorn."

During the next two weeks we visited friends in the Washington area, went to the dentist, and shopped. The weather for the most part was very cold with some rain, sleet, and a 10-inch snowfall one day. 'We had a number of days with temperatures of 5-20 degrees F.

I moaned constantly about the cold. We visited one family who was in the middle of tearing up the floor of their foyer. It seems that the lady of the house found a 100-year schoolhouse that was being torn down, salvaged the oak floor, and brought it home for her foyer. She said if She couldn't restore an old house, she'd give a newer house a restored look. I asked what was the next step, but since I was making notes for this trip report, she declined to respond. Only a person with the capacity to raise five children who are less than 5 years apart and still gives every appearance of being a rational human being today would have the insight to come up with the idea for her foyer.

We also visited a family who had invited us to stay with them and fortunately had not accepted because shortly before Christmas their son had arrived home from college with a friend and apparently the friend was planning to stay indefinitely. Their son is extremely smart but a-bit strange and was going to this small college in Illinois which consists of 54 students and 7 professors and the course of study is the great books. I asked his mother how he found this college and she said he had found this pamphlet that said on the cover "Do you march to the tune of different drummer?" Dorothy and I exchanged glances across the dining room table because we feel there is a bit of that in Toby. A minute or so later, Toby glanced up from his plate and asked "What did you say was the name of that college?"

Other activities those two-week included Dorothy calling her horseback riding instructor and being invited to attend a lesson (clothes were provided) - 5 degree F temperature. We also checked on our house (it was a bit discouraging since three college boys are living there and anyone with teenagers or young men can imagine housekeeping is not their strong point). We did visit with our dog (he is being kept by the boys in our house) and took him for a number of car rides, which he always enjoyed. Dorothy had a great time visiting grocery stores looking for refunds. And we also mailed boxes back home - eventually we mailed 21 boxes back. Toby and Dwight also visited their former school and Dwight was impressed that he felt he was up to the level of the classes at St. Stephens.

On New Year's Day I flew to Rochester N.Y. to attend the wedding of the daughter of an old friend from my years in the Air Force. After the wedding I went home with he and his wife to spend a very enjoyable and quiet weekend with them. My compliments to Mary for having two meals, lasagna (which no one else in my house would eat), and spareribs (which are available but very small with little meat in Australia) that I have very rarely. I visited the factory where my friend Lanny works. The company reconditions railroad and subway cars and the walkthrough was very interesting. On Sunday, Lanny drove me back to Rochester to catch the plane and there was a huge traffic jam trying to get into the airport, thanks to a new traffic pattern that obviously is not working. I finally got out and walked to the terminal. I arrived in the middle of a snowstorm in Washington and after taking the subway from National Airport to within a mile or so of the McDonalds, I decided it would be safer for me to walk than to ask Dorothy to drive the rental car down to the station.

On Saturday, January 9th we drove to Hagerstown to attend my parents 50th wedding anniversary party. My brother and his wife had if arranged a party at the Sheraton with many of my parents friends. Everyone had a good time. On the way home to my parents, Dwight rode with my uncle in his Lincoln Continental. Dwight was very impressed; however, he reluctantly turned down an offer to drive it since he has never driven on the right-hand side of the road.

The next day we visited a former school teacher with whom I correspond regularly, another old friend (she and her husband have a menagerie consisting of three dogs, two cats and three goats - the latter being used to help keep down the scrub on their 12 acres), and my brother where we ate supper and enjoyed a relatively long visit for the first time in a good many years. The Redskins were in a playoff game during the day but the boys didn't want me to watch because there is a myth that I jinx them. It is only coincidental that the only time they have won a Super Bowl was when I was in Australia, and the fact that every time I walked into the room that day something went wrong for the 'Skins. The base in Australia now has a satellite dish to pick up TV and I have to decide whether to try and watch the Super Bowl this year.

(Monday, we left Hagerstown, and after a detour for me to conduct some quick business, returned to McGrandma's. The next day we met some friends in Washington for a good meal at a Greek restaurant.

The following day we were treated to lunch by a delightful lady who both boys were fortunate enough to have had for the third grade. We met her at her house in Old Town Alexandria and she took us to lunch several blocks away. It was a clear sunny day, but there was ice on the sidewalks and at one point some workers were pumping water out of a construction site and we had to step over the stream of water. I kidded Mrs. Taylor that the jaunt to the restaurant was like a little field trip.

We finally left Alexandria, and the Macs, on Thursday, January 14th and after detouring to visit a nice lady, whose house I roomed in during my college days, drove to visit some friends in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. We enjoyed our visit there and during the evening, at least Dwight and I had nerve enough to join Joe and his boys in their hot tub. I say nerve, because the hot tub is located outside and it was 7 degrees F that night. We ran the 10 feet from the house to the tub, through the snow, in only a bathing suit. It was quite pleasant in the tub, and after being convinced that it takes several minutes for the effects of the hot water to wear off, we all got out and rolled in the snow and jumped back in. (Not bad for an "old stick in the mud" as Dorothy calls me.)

We left the next day and after driving through Lancaster, the heart of the Amish country, and Valley Forge, the site of George Washington's winter encampment in 1777-78, we drove into Philadelphia. We stayed right downtown in a Holiday Inn and I guess the rates were low because of the time of year. That afternoon we visited the Franklin Institute Museum, which is basically a hands-on museum. Unfortunately we had to hurry through because it closed at 5, but the boys greatly enjoyed it. That evening we walked to Wannamaker’s, the huge department store. I was overwhelmed by the grand court in the middle of the store that was a large rectangular area that went to the roof of this 6 or 7-story building. A large pipe organ is installed on the upper floors and while we were there an organist was entertaining the shoppers. We saw a rather peculiar sight on our way to the department store. In the square in front of the Philadelphia City Hall is a 30-foot statue of a clothespin. I could not fathom why it would be there.

Later we walked to an apartment building about 6-7 long (at least they seemed long when we were freezing) blocks to visit some friends of Dorothy's. Dr. Cotter and his wife are very interesting people. Dr. Cotter was in charge of archeology in Philadelphia for many years, and has been an archeologist for many years arid has a wealth of stories, artifacts, and slides. He spent a lot of time talking to the boys and showing them things and then I asked to see some of his slides on China. Reluctantly, we finally left to return to the motel and Dr. Cotter took us back in his VW.

The next day we checked out of the motel early and drove over to the Cotters' apartment, dropped off our car and Dr. Cotter spent the morning showing us the historical buildings of Philadelphia, including Franklin Court, site of Ben Franklin's house. Dr. Cotter had been in charge of the archeological dig there some years ago.

He also took us to the museum at the University of PA where he lectures. Unfortunately, we did not have time to really look at the exhibits. We were kept hopping to keep up with Dr. Cotter while he gave us a quick tour and commentary. We rushed back to his apartment, were treated to lunch, and left for New Jersey. We drove through Princeton on the way to Dorothy's parents, and finally arrived there early evening.

The remaining time in the U.S. was spent doing more shopping, mailing more boxes, and packing suitcases. (I was supposed to say, that throughout this trip Dorothy spent many hours packing and repacking suitcases while I relaxed - I have no comment.) One day Dwight and Dorothy went into New York City so Dorothy could visit a long-time friend and Dwight could visit the camera store he had tried to go to before. There he learned the definition of "gray market goods." That is merchandise purchased in bulk overseas and sold at greatly reduced prices, but for which there is only a store guarantee - no manufacturer's guarantee. He declined to shop there.

Finally, the day came to return to Oz. Unlike the day we left for the states, it was relatively quiet and except for getting a bit lost on the way to the airport we arrived in what I though was plenty of time. However, Hertz, was slow in providing transportation from the rental car to the terminal and then we discovered that if you are flying international, that each piece of baggage being checked in is hand searched. That took a long time and so we didn't have a lot of time to kill at the airport. We boarded the plane that was supposed to take off at 6 p.m. Shortly thereafter; we were informed that there would be a delay of 25 minutes. I started to panic since originally there was only a 45-minute gap between landing in L.A. and taking off for Sydney. After doing some checking, the purser told me that there were 10 or 11 people on board that were to make that same connection and that they would expedite things in L.A. When we arrived there those of us for Sydney were allowed to disembark first and there were United personnel there to guide us to the departure gate. Minutes after settling in the doors were closed and the plane taxied out to take off.

That flight was slightly over 14 hours long but was better that the incoming flight. Although it was supposed to be fully booked I'd estimate that it was only about 30- 40% full so there was room to spread out. Neither Toby nor I were feeling all that well and he got sick a couple of times during the flight. We were supposed to overnight in Sydney, but when we were told that we would arrive earlier than expected in Sydney, and with the thought of dragging those 12 suitcases to a motel and back, as well as not feeling well, we decided to try and make the connection to the Alice flight the same day. We landed at Sydney on 7:05 a.m. and after picking up our bags, and clearing customs, I ran up to the Australian Airlines counter and asked if there were seats and time to make the flight to Alice. He said there were seats but that the flight left at 8:00 and was on time. It was then 7:42. The international and domestic terminals in Sydney are a fair distance apart and you have to take a bus or taxi between them. We ran outside and I frantically screamed for a taxi, threw our bags in and asked to be taken to the domestic terminal. After a casual drive there, we jumped out, and lugged our 12 bags up to the airlines counter. I asked to jump in front of someone, left the bags, got my boarding passes and literally ran to the gate. We were told there was no way our bags would get on the plane. We walked on the plane, sat down and they shut the door. After a brief delay on the runway we took off and arrived 3 hours later in Alice Springs, a record 25 hours from the time we got on the plane in Newark N.J. Our bags arrived safely the next day.

P.S. We arrived in Alice Springs at 9:35 a.m. At 10:00 a.m. the first earthquake to hit Australia in a long time (someone said over 20 years) occurred near Tennant Creek, about 300 miles north of Alice Springs in an area that is supposed to be one of the most geologically stable in the world. It was followed over the next day by three more quakes. We wondered whether it was related to our return.