Purple Cabbage?!!

It was late afternoon at the Philadelphia International Airport.

I hadn't been there since I was eleven or twelve, and I didn't remember it bright

with mid-winter sunshine.After enjoying life steeped in the luxury of home,for

what seemed ever longer than fifteen days;Here I was in full dress winter uniform,

Great Coat and all...

More than a year had been excreted from my life's tube, and

my parents seemed more ancient than I recalled.My father demonstrated the most

wizened appearance of the pair, but he remained strong for a man of 68.

When I gave him a real Christmas present for the first time in my life,I was

chagrined to learn that he had quit smoking.The present was a Ronson, Silver,

Butane Lighter, and I liked it a lot!

His thirty years in the ship yards, breathing fumes and asbestos,

had all but destroyed his lungs. So quiting smoking went a long way towards getting

him close on to 95 years of age before he finally stopped breathing...

The extraordinary adventure of her life lined my mothers face.

At first glance,one could surmise mid seventies,albeit she had not reached 62 yet.

However she was still determined in her movements and obviously clear of mind.

While on leave I was embarrassed to find out that though I had

signed out before my thousand mile drive home, I had failed to pick up my Air Line

tickets. Well suffice it to say, my very resourceful mother came through for her

little Raymond once again.

I've come to believe your not gone until your forgotten.I'll never

forget the great parents I was entrusted with...

Mom,my brothers Fred and Bob,and maybe Anne Franke had come to the Air Port

to see me off on the next big step in the saga of Raymond...

At that time,I think the last time someone from our family had been out

of the country was when my brother Tommy fought in the Korean War...But then my

sister Peggy had been over in England,when Queen Elizabeth was crowned...What

year was that? Also,she traveled by ship,I guess that counts?

So,we had to kill a couple of hours before take off and we had

gotten situated in the ground level gait area.When boarding time came it would be

only about a hundred foot walk up to the rolling steps that would get me on board.

As you know change is stressful,and big changes are very stressful...

I was about to embark on a trip into the totally unknown.Even though I had been

decorated for valor, I was not feeling at all brave.I had a premonition of impending

doom...My worst fears revolved around being without familiarity of circumstance,

both social and physical.I felt like I was about to dive into a deep dark well.

The dark spell of mood was broken then by some of the happiest laughter

I had heard in ages!The guffaws and chortles were emanating from two gleeful

brothers.Wondering what could be tickling them to such merriment,I slid over to the

refreshment machine alcove.There they were. Each brother was pumping Quarters into

what I came to know were Air Travel Insurance machines.Their hysteria was all about

how they would be such Big Millionaires, if in fact a tragedy occurs...Actually I

had not thought of that,and they could after all mourn so much more comfortably?

Finally on board, I marveled how a little plane like this could make

it all the way to Italy? Then we landed in New York.My ears adjusted fairly well.

As a matter of fact my right ear had nearly normal hearing. So I was able to get

the needed instructions as to how to change planes from the peppy Stewardess.

There was not much more time than needed,to buy some cigarettes and candy before my

big,four engine jet was open for business.

As the seating was ad lib,I picked a window seat just in back of the left

wing.I had always wondered if you could see flames coming out of a jet engine at

night? So here was my chance.The evening meal ,served by the stewardess with the very

young mother affect,was pretty good and it was certainly interesting...

Hours over the Atlantic,looking out of my small window I could see moon lit

cloud cover far below the wing,but no flames...After too many butts,and reading the

"Emergency Instructions" three times, I put my seat in the way back position.With the

seat back, I found that the foot rest came up considerably.Sleep claimed about three

hours of my young life,and then I was wide awake and very bored.It began to seem like

those dark jet engines would drone on into eternity.

I began to imagine that if I

could just stomp my feet on the floor,the plane would begin to descend out of the

world of boredom that had become my residence.A glint of dawn on the far horizon

saved me from the impending insanity,and I was glad too that I would not be offending

the nice stewardess after all...

Ireland really is green! Amazed is a good word

for how I felt as the plane sank through the early morning clouds over Shannon

Air Port.At the foot of each wave of golden yellow sunshine breaking through the

overcast,were glimpses of a sea of tall green grass.

At that time The Shannon Airport was completely lacking in

modern buildings,and I kept thinking it's all wood? But at least I was back on the

ground for what turned out to be at least ten hours...

In the winter time it gets dark earlier in Paris,than it does in

Philadelphia.So when we started down over Orleans,I couldn't see much.However I

began to suffer a great deal of pain in my left ear, due to our swift decent...

I really did not want to be embarrassed by my own scream, but I was horrified at

the certain knowledge that I was on the verge!As luck would have it I had to

swallow and with that the ice pick was pulled out of my ear.


Orleans was more modern and even down right glamorous than even The

New York Air Port had been.I was able to buy some picture post cards with American

money with no problem, in one of the air port shops.And in no time time I had

addressed two or three of them to Mom.I stepped out side on to an elevated deck to

breath some fresh French air,while I smoked another cigarette.A pretty stewardess

of about my own age asked me for a lite.Apparently,I had not seen her on the last

Jet but she had seen me and wondered where I was off to? She assured me that I

would just " fall in love with Italy ". I was falling in love already...

In pulling out my Zippo, I had gotten the Post Cards out too.When I sheepishly

explained to Sarah that I didn't know when I would be able to post them

she said she would be happy to mail them for me... With that she became another

hazy memory.

The Air Force had been kind enough to provide a voucher for dinner.

And as I had nothing else to do to pass the time, I thought here's the Restaurant

I may as well eat.The place was sparsely attended,and so I picked a table for two

to share with myself.Believe it or not, my tall French waiter was dressed in some

kind of black and white monkey suit,with a bow tie? The menu was somewhat

fortified with English, and something that sounded like ham and whatever

seemed like a good choice so I pointed at that...

When slim returned to see what sort of gratuity his

foreign military guest would be leaving,it hurt me to see the sad anguish

racing all over his face...

He could not comprehend my not eating purple cabbage.