Bomb On Board Part 1 (Prologue)
Although I was born in Philadelphia, I spent my entire childhood in Atlantic City, a very small town, where I led a small uneventful life. As I became aware of thing happening in other parts of the world, I developed wanderdlust ...spurred on by the music of James Taylor and other folk musicians of the time who sang reverently about travelling being on the road. All this stirred something in me. I wanted to see more, do more, be more.
My first taste of "adventure" was to move to Gotham City. For all that I experienced ...the new people I met, the restaurants, the theatres, the Coney Island Cyclone... it really wasn't all that different. And it was only a 2 1/2 hour bus ride from where I'd come, Atlantic City. I didn't feel like I'd really gone anywhere.
My best friend, Bernie, had gone to and come back from California, and I was totally mesmerized by the fact that he'd done such a fantastic thing. Could I be so daring. Sure! I could this.
My mom had died the year before, (my father died when I was very young), and I wasn't really all that close to the rest of the aunts, uncles, and cousins that made up my loosely connected family. There was no reason for me to remain in that area, that part of the country. I was unencumbered and free to go anywhere in the world I chose ...so I chose California.
I quit my job ...actually, I gave one-month's notice. The security deposit on my Brooklyn Heights apartment was equal to one-months rent. I didn't want to loose that, but I wouldn't be around to collect it, so in that final month, I just didn't pay my rent. At the end of the month, when the real estate company was starting to make legal noises, I was packed and on my way out the door.
My first taste of "adventure" was to move to Gotham City. For all that I experienced ...the new people I met, the restaurants, the theatres, the Coney Island Cyclone... it really wasn't all that different. And it was only a 2 1/2 hour bus ride from where I'd come, Atlantic City. I didn't feel like I'd really gone anywhere.
My best friend, Bernie, had gone to and come back from California, and I was totally mesmerized by the fact that he'd done such a fantastic thing. Could I be so daring. Sure! I could this.
My mom had died the year before, (my father died when I was very young), and I wasn't really all that close to the rest of the aunts, uncles, and cousins that made up my loosely connected family. There was no reason for me to remain in that area, that part of the country. I was unencumbered and free to go anywhere in the world I chose ...so I chose California.
I quit my job ...actually, I gave one-month's notice. The security deposit on my Brooklyn Heights apartment was equal to one-months rent. I didn't want to loose that, but I wouldn't be around to collect it, so in that final month, I just didn't pay my rent. At the end of the month, when the real estate company was starting to make legal noises, I was packed and on my way out the door.
I called one of those companies that buys all your stuff in one lot. I donated all my superfluous clothing to Good Will ...all that was left after Bernie and some other friends raided my closets. So, by the end of the month (March 1972), I left my [empty] apartment, with my one duffel bag over my shoulder, dropped off the keys, and got on the subway to the airport. There was no turning back; there was nothing to go back to. It was not a very graceful exit, but I was on my way. I made a concerted effort to conceal the mountain of anxiety that had taken up residence in my stomach.
As I'm writing this, I wonder if I could've gotten a better price on the ticket if I'd made a reservation earlier. But at the time, I didn't know anything about the protocols of air travel. This was going to be my first time ever on a plane ...my first time in an airport. I was winging it as I went along.
I got my ticket and waited in the coffee shop for the hour until my flight left. I was much too excited to read anything, so I ate.
As I sat there, thinking that I was fitting in with all the other seasoned travellers, I was unaware that I was wearing my anxiety and naivety like a billboard. One traveller sitting there in the coffee shop noticed this and inquired, "This your first time on plane?" Actually I was relieved to abandon the pretense. I revealed that it was [my maiden voyage] and how exciting it was to be going to California. "Oh, I'm going to California too. My name is Louis, Louis Gossett."
It was nice to talk to someone. It helped pass the time, which seemed like eons, until the palne was ready for boarding. At the time, his name meant nothing to me, but ironically one of the first movies I saw here in California ...some many months later... was "The Landlord" in which he had a role. I sat there in the darkened theater wanted to shout out, "Hey, I know him!"
Okay, so now I'm boarding the plane. What was so great about this? It was nothing more than a crowded bus. Granted, a bus that was going to fly, but I kind of expected something a little more elegant. I later learned that the luxury I had anticipated came [at a price] with first class. This was hardly a disappointment, though. I was about to take my first plane ride ...and it was going to be quite an adventure.
(To be cont'd.)
Quote of the Week: "No matter where you go, there you are."
As I'm writing this, I wonder if I could've gotten a better price on the ticket if I'd made a reservation earlier. But at the time, I didn't know anything about the protocols of air travel. This was going to be my first time ever on a plane ...my first time in an airport. I was winging it as I went along.
I got my ticket and waited in the coffee shop for the hour until my flight left. I was much too excited to read anything, so I ate.
As I sat there, thinking that I was fitting in with all the other seasoned travellers, I was unaware that I was wearing my anxiety and naivety like a billboard. One traveller sitting there in the coffee shop noticed this and inquired, "This your first time on plane?" Actually I was relieved to abandon the pretense. I revealed that it was [my maiden voyage] and how exciting it was to be going to California. "Oh, I'm going to California too. My name is Louis, Louis Gossett."
It was nice to talk to someone. It helped pass the time, which seemed like eons, until the palne was ready for boarding. At the time, his name meant nothing to me, but ironically one of the first movies I saw here in California ...some many months later... was "The Landlord" in which he had a role. I sat there in the darkened theater wanted to shout out, "Hey, I know him!"
Okay, so now I'm boarding the plane. What was so great about this? It was nothing more than a crowded bus. Granted, a bus that was going to fly, but I kind of expected something a little more elegant. I later learned that the luxury I had anticipated came [at a price] with first class. This was hardly a disappointment, though. I was about to take my first plane ride ...and it was going to be quite an adventure.
(To be cont'd.)
Quote of the Week: "No matter where you go, there you are."
posted by gieau_sf (9:06:00 AM)
-- All non-relevant comments will be (have been) deleted!
5 Comment(s):
Schaumi: You wanted to know if I had any other adventures. Well this is that other one.
ohboy,
I can't wait to read more..
I too was infected with wanderlust at an early age.
Hopefully, I'll have a similar tale to tell someday about my first adventure overseas... OOOOOHHHH... Butterflies already!
whoo! how amazingly synchronistic that you met louis gosset at the airport and that you saw him in "landlord." i've been told when this sort of thing happens, it's the universe's way of affirming that you are on the right track. can't wait to hear more... you're a great story teller.
Schaumi: But you did extensive travelling. I got only as far as San Francisco, and took root. You should tell us about some of your adventures ...but after the move :-)
Gloria-Jean: I'm excited for you, too ...hopefully.
Snow: You know, I'm beginning to believe it when they say "there are no coincidences."
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