Step Out With Your Right Foot

That was one of my beloved Mom's sayings, whenever someone was leaving for a trip, or a new opportunity like college or a new job. I never knew what it meant, especially since I'm left footed, and tend to take my fist step with the dominant side. But I knew it came from her cheer leading nature, and out of love.

I thought of her last night at Dave's shiva, in Hallandale. His widow Inez looked so bereft, so lost. She and Dave were married over 62 years.  I started to try to comfort her by saying how life went on very nicely for my Mom after my Dad died, after a time, but then remembered my Mom was 62 when she was widowed, not late 80s like Inez.

Still, she has an extremely loving family. She will move in with Jeanette and Bob -- Bob has become his in laws' caretaker. I hugged him as we left and told him he was a great man. It's funny -- he was never very close to his in laws. I think they'd have preferred Jeanette had married a Jewish guy. But over the last several years he has become their angel -- he's semi retired and Jeanette still works full time.

Well -- time to get my mind out of the USA. Young 2L Chris will be here in a bit over an hour, to fetch Wifey and me and drive us, along with his parents, to MIA. Loni had her last day of school today -- she's taught English for well over 30 years -- and she will be raring to party. Mike and I never need much of an excuse to celebrate -- the free open bar at the Centurion Lounge awaits.

Whenever I take a long flight, I recall a swimmer from UM named Carl -- a friend of my Cheech and Chong-like freshman apartment mates. Before leaving for break, Carl and the two Marks (one from Indiana and one from Ohio) would smoke prodigious amounts of weed with Carl, who was a Minnesotan. Carl would smile at me and day "Dave -- I always like to be just a bit higher than the plane I fly on."  It was sage advice.

We're flying Business, so we get seats that flatten into beds, so we ought to sleep most of the way across the ocean. I brought along an anthology of WWII writers, and plan to get in the mood for the Normandy tours.

FaceBook brought up a memory from last year. Mike, Loni, Wifey and I had drinks at the Intercontinental and then walked to the AAA to see Tears for Fears and Hall and Oats. A monsoon came through, and we were soaked. We stopped in the Express store at Bayside and bought dry shirts. Mike and I lucked out -- they had exactly two remaining XL shirts -- in lovely pastel colors. The show was terrific.

It occurs to me how lucky we are -- empty nesters, with 4 awesome kids among us, living nice and productive lives.  I plan to toast that very fact at the airport lounge.

So it's au revoir, USA.  We're off to learn and enjoy, and hopefully NOT hear anyone scream "Allahu Akbar" followed by some kind of explosion.

We plan to be back June 19th. Adios for now...