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After finishing 8th grade, my parents bought me a graduation gift: a ticket for my first airplane trip. I was 13 1/2, and I was very excited. Finally, here I was, going on this big vacation all on my own...going to Grandpa's it never felt like a vacation. I was dressed in my "Easter Suit" (I guess in those days, we all got dressed up to travel?), and for some reason, I think I remember wearing even my Easter hat. Why I did that, I have no idea. Who wears a hat on a plane?
I was leaving Idlewild since JFK had only a few months to remain President. (It was renamed "JFK" on 12/24/63) It was a typical early summer NYC steamy day, with thunderstorms popping up in the area, so as a result, my plane left late.
I was flying to Atlanta, where I had to change planes to board a commuter plane for a short flight to Columbus, GA, which was not far from where my Aunt lived in Auburn, AL. My Aunt was a recently retired Navy WAVE and the first female graduate from the school of engineering at Auburn University (GO TIGERS!) She was my role model and had she stayed in the service, there was no question in my mind (and in the minds of many who knew her) that she would have been the first woman Admiral. Auburn was her hometown, and that summer, my Uncle was deployed to Vietnam as a "military advisor," where he would be assigned for a year. Her family lived in Auburn, so there was a support network there for her (although, knowing her as I did, she was more the support network for her family, not so much for her.)
As an aside, I remember him telling me that when he first arrived there, he could take a Jeep on his own to go to an area to train the Vietnamese military, but by the time he was ready to return to the US, it had gotten so bad that he needed a convoy of US soldiers along to protect for just a few miles. He also told stories about how everyone carrying a package was suspect since there was always the chance that the "deliveryman" was bringing a bomb.
Well, I missed my connection in Atlanta. So here I was, on my first plane ride, and the first time I was ever in an airport and a city I knew nothing about.
I was flying to Atlanta, where I had to change planes to board a commuter plane for a short flight to Columbus, GA, which was not far from where my Aunt lived in Auburn, AL. My Aunt was a recently retired Navy WAVE and the first female graduate from the school of engineering at Auburn University (GO TIGERS!) She was my role model and had she stayed in the service, there was no question in my mind (and in the minds of many who knew her) that she would have been the first woman Admiral. Auburn was her hometown, and that summer, my Uncle was deployed to Vietnam as a "military advisor," where he would be assigned for a year. Her family lived in Auburn, so there was a support network there for her (although, knowing her as I did, she was more the support network for her family, not so much for her.)
As an aside, I remember him telling me that when he first arrived there, he could take a Jeep on his own to go to an area to train the Vietnamese military, but by the time he was ready to return to the US, it had gotten so bad that he needed a convoy of US soldiers along to protect for just a few miles. He also told stories about how everyone carrying a package was suspect since there was always the chance that the "deliveryman" was bringing a bomb.
Well, I missed my connection in Atlanta. So here I was, on my first plane ride, and the first time I was ever in an airport and a city I knew nothing about.
I have always been nosy...and especially so when I was just a fledgling teenager. I realized that I didn't have any idea where I needed to go to get a new flight, but my nosiness became a good thing. As we deplaned, I followed closely behind a couple of businessmen who seemed to know what they had to do and where to go.
Another aside and a very important observation. As soon as I ended the walkway gate and went into the terminal, I was immediately facing restrooms: "White Men," "White Women," and "Colored." Nearby were two water fountains marked "White" and "Colored." The colored one looked dirty and broken, while the other was pristine. In my whole life, did I think I would ever see such a thing? Of course, I'd seen the news about the riots, but I was so far removed from anything like that in my little cocoon of Queens I had no idea this was real. This left an enormous impression on me, and I remember feeling confused and even angry to this day. How could people treat others like that? I will never forget that.
Back to my woe of being lost in Atlanta.
I followed the men and stood behind them in a line at the gate agent and listened to what they said and what they had to do. I stepped up behind them, with my Easter hat slightly askew (how do you wear a hat in a high-backed airplane seat without knocking it off?) and calmly in my newly found grown-up voice and parroted what the men in front said. I somehow got a new flight to Columbus, and! thanks to the men! I also got a voucher for lunch! I laugh now, remembering I was worried I had enough on the voucher for a sandwich and an iced tea. I'd never had unsweetened iced tea before in a restaurant. On the table was one of those old-fashioned dispensers where you had to pour the sugar into the drink. I had no idea (duh, did I think to measure it in a teaspoon?), so I just kept pouring it directly into the tea until I realized I had about an inch of melting sugar in the bottom of the glass. Surprisingly, I didn't fall into a sugar coma.
Another aside and a very important observation. As soon as I ended the walkway gate and went into the terminal, I was immediately facing restrooms: "White Men," "White Women," and "Colored." Nearby were two water fountains marked "White" and "Colored." The colored one looked dirty and broken, while the other was pristine. In my whole life, did I think I would ever see such a thing? Of course, I'd seen the news about the riots, but I was so far removed from anything like that in my little cocoon of Queens I had no idea this was real. This left an enormous impression on me, and I remember feeling confused and even angry to this day. How could people treat others like that? I will never forget that.
Back to my woe of being lost in Atlanta.
I followed the men and stood behind them in a line at the gate agent and listened to what they said and what they had to do. I stepped up behind them, with my Easter hat slightly askew (how do you wear a hat in a high-backed airplane seat without knocking it off?) and calmly in my newly found grown-up voice and parroted what the men in front said. I somehow got a new flight to Columbus, and! thanks to the men! I also got a voucher for lunch! I laugh now, remembering I was worried I had enough on the voucher for a sandwich and an iced tea. I'd never had unsweetened iced tea before in a restaurant. On the table was one of those old-fashioned dispensers where you had to pour the sugar into the drink. I had no idea (duh, did I think to measure it in a teaspoon?), so I just kept pouring it directly into the tea until I realized I had about an inch of melting sugar in the bottom of the glass. Surprisingly, I didn't fall into a sugar coma.
By this time, I was feeling confident (it must have been wearing the suit and the hat), and I did find my way to the appropriate gate and landed in Columbus, GA. There was where a mightily relieved Aunt and my young cousin were delighted to see me and made a beeline to a phone to let my parents know I'd actually made it.
I recall that my father, who rarely praised me for anything ("You got a 97 in Spelling? Why wasn't it 100?") was rather impressed that this moron somehow managed to get herself to change a flight, get herself a lunch and find her way to Alabama.
Besides the time I later spent in California, that summer was one of the most interesting of my life.
My aunt introduced me to some teenagers who were children of her childhood chums since this was her hometown, and we sometimes got to hang out. I went to someone's house and even learned how to square dance.
To this day, I never saw as many stars in the sky as I did in Alabama nights. I remember thinking of of the song Stars Fell on Alabama which I heard on the radio from time-to-time. My Mom was a huge Frank Sinatra fan, and he recorded it in 1956 so I must have heard it many times in the seven years since.
I never got used to the kids using the "n" word. It was what they grew up with, and I tried to interrupt who used the word in my presence, but it was usually met by icy stares, and once someone called me a "dirty Yankee." I had to think about that for a minute, and all I could come back with was, " I am not a Yankee fan. I'm a Mets fan!" which caused people to laugh and eased the tension.
I tried to keep the peace and avoid similar situations for the remainder of the summer. But I never forgot what I saw and it certainly changed my life.
Besides the time I later spent in California, that summer was one of the most interesting of my life.
My aunt introduced me to some teenagers who were children of her childhood chums since this was her hometown, and we sometimes got to hang out. I went to someone's house and even learned how to square dance.
To this day, I never saw as many stars in the sky as I did in Alabama nights. I remember thinking of of the song Stars Fell on Alabama which I heard on the radio from time-to-time. My Mom was a huge Frank Sinatra fan, and he recorded it in 1956 so I must have heard it many times in the seven years since.
I never got used to the kids using the "n" word. It was what they grew up with, and I tried to interrupt who used the word in my presence, but it was usually met by icy stares, and once someone called me a "dirty Yankee." I had to think about that for a minute, and all I could come back with was, " I am not a Yankee fan. I'm a Mets fan!" which caused people to laugh and eased the tension.
I tried to keep the peace and avoid similar situations for the remainder of the summer. But I never forgot what I saw and it certainly changed my life.