Monday, June 6, 2011.
Red Beans And Oysters. Chicago? On The Train?
Sometimes I get the paranoid impression that the Marys are scamming me, as I think they were today. As I dug into the offer, I decided that even if it is a scam, I'd get a lot of pleasure by going along with it.
Mary Ann said that an old, forgotten idea came up in a conversation with Mary Leigh about their extensive summer travel plans. Around 1997, I decided that when Jude reached fifteen or sixteen the two of us would take a trip. I'd let Jude point the way, in exchange for being allowed to talk seriously about life for a half-hour or so every day.
It didn't go down exactly that way. But it did happen, before and after our fifth Boy Scout summer camp in 2002. It was in northern Arkansas, far enough away that it made sense to break the trip up into two days each way. On the way out, we followed the route I took when I bicycled to Chicago in 1986--a roundabout way, but very rural and interesting. On the way back, we went cave exploring. The next morning after breakfast, I gave him The Talk. He already knew about all that stuff, however. And as for the big life issues--well, I think all the points I wanted to make came across just through our being together.
Mary Leigh said she ought to get a trip with Daddy, too. This was in the days before she Crossed That Line, and still thought Daddy was wonderful. By the time she was the right age, she was barely putting up with me, and certainly didn't want to go on a long driving trip, no matter where we went.
But today, she says that she wants to take the father-daughter trip I promised. To Chicago. And that she would even consent to getting there on the train! Be still, my heart!
I grilled her about this Chicago plan. She had all the right answers. She heard that the architecture, art museums, and shopping in Chicago were terrific--as indeed they are. I added a play and some cool restaurants to the mix, and we both started getting excited about it. She's lukewarm about the train, but that' is an improvement over the ice-cold she has been for the past few years. But she knows that riding the rails this is among my top two or three pleasures. She's doing this for Daddy!
When I got home, I made the reservations online. We were able to nail down deluxe bedrooms both going and coming. Fabulous!
There was, however, a scam--but it was Mary Ann's doing. The Marys are planning two weeks in Italy. And they feel a mix of guilt and concern that they're leaving me behind, in my uncertain physical state. In fact, Italy looks less and less likely. They're having trouble getting airline tickets. This leaves the girls with only four weeks of vacation this summer. I feel terrible about that, but better now that I know I'll get a train ride in the deal.