Flying solo

When I was 10 years old my Aunt Dorothy was living in California and somehow she convinced my Mom and Dad to let me fly solo out to San Francisco to visit her.

My Mom was scared to let me go, so instead of telling Dorothy no, she asked my Dad if it was OK, thinking he'd say no. To her shock, he got wildly enthusiastic about the idea and said yes.

All these years later I get why he wanted so badly for me to go. I think he knew how the trip would open up the world for me. And even then he had already left his heart in San Francisco.

So off I went on the most incredible journey of my young life. I flew into San Francisco all by myself - even changing planes in Chicago. Then, like Thelma and Louise, Dorothy and I traveled down the California coast. We went to Knotts Berry Farm, Disneyland, Los Angeles and San Diego and even, briefly, Mexico.

One Sunday, having promised my mother she'd take me to church, Dorothy hailed a cab in Tijuana, Mexico. The driver, claiming not to speak English, drove us to just about every location in town...except church. Later Dorothy said the whole thing was pretty dodgy. But I don't remember that. All I know is that she bought me a giant red bird-shaped pinata at the marketplace.

I think that Tijuana cab ride put Dorothy over the edge. So we hit the road for Arizona and stayed at a quiet little dude ranch. Her plan? I would ride horses. She would nap.

It was heaven there. I'll never forget the desert, the heat, the barn and those gorgeous horses. I promptly developed a crush on a cowboy named Montana.

The highlight? One day my horse spied a snake, reared up and galloped away. My head hit a low branch and I toppled off, landing hands-down in a cactus. It hurt and I cried. But the part I'll never forget was when Montana picked me up off the ground and sat me in front of him on his saddle holding me in his strong arms all the way back to the ranch. *Sigh*

That night at the ranch's family-style dinner I was inducted into the "Pratfall Club" and awarded a horseshoe wrapped in tin foil and a bow.

Needless to say, when I walked down the steps of the plane back in snowy Rochester, with a golden tan, cowboy boots and a big red bird-shaped pinata...my life had changed forever.

I'll never forget how my parents watched me through the window. The pilot walked me across the tarmac in the driving snow - he had loaned me his coat. The pinata was flying in the wind. Mom and Dad were laughing and crying. Me too. It was a big moment.

Fast forward 34 years...

This summer Dorothy gave Drew one of those big moments. On August 7th, Drew flew down to Washington DC to visit Dorothy at the big old house in Maryland where she's house-sitting. It's one of three homes owned by a retired ambassador - complete with a pool, loads of cats and deer that come to graze every night at dusk. A perfect house for two animal lovers.

Naturally, Dorothy totally spoiled him. They went into Washington DC and Six Flags. They swam in the pool, went to the movies, went out to dinner and to the toy store. She made his favorite thing - chili...twice.

When Drew sat at the gate waiting to board the plane all by himself, he was so proud.

Dylan may have gone to Scotland this summer...but, as Drew remarked, he didn't fly solo.

Here's a good story. Drew studied the Holocaust in school this year. So he had it in his head that he wanted to go to the Holocaust Museum in Washington. Well, Dorothy did a great job organizing a trip there. But when they got there Drew overwhelmed and the whole thing was a bit over his head.

So in the midst of the tour in those sad sacred halls, he started piping up that he wondered where the nearest toy store was. Dorothy was mortified. She shushed him. So Drew piped up that if she didn't know where the nearest toy store was, maybe they could ask one of the people that work there?

Um, yeah...the Holocaust...right...hey! Have you seen the new Transformer toys?Poor Dorothy. I can only imagine what I put her through on that trip all those year ago.

Here's Drew's picture when he returned. He was so confident and proud. His perspective had changed. He'd left the comfort of home and had an adventure that none of us shared. These are important steps. You can just see it in his face...

To our Dorothy, who has has flown solo to so many places in the world - Vietnam, Somalia, Lebanon, and all points in between - our thanks for always being the adventurer, the co-conspirator, the challenger, and for loving us all so much.