Lesson 161: Leaving on a Jet Plane

Au Revoir, Readers.  Hasta luego!   Eloise is going on an adventure.  I'm leaving for a little while.  Turning the Lamp Post light onto a timer.  The place I am going recognizes 800 spoken languages, so for you Slovenians who probably pepper the place, Zbogom!

To the little jerks who ripped off my and my dad's beer, don't go getting all excited now.  The Lamp Post will be well guarded.  I'm leaving the rest of them behind.  Eloise is going on a journey with two friends for a few days.  A first for Eloise and as with any firsts, I am dealing with a fair share of jitters that come in waves.

A few things are getting my stomach jumping at the moment, but the major issue is that I have never left my children before.  Not even for a day.  I can't imagine not seeing their faces wake up--even Sam's scowly one.  The place I am going is very busy, so I should have lots of distractions to keep my mind off of missing them.

It would not be any fun for me to flat out tell you where I am going.  I'll give you some clues and let you think about it and tell you when I get back.  Your first clues are in the above paragraphs.  Another clue is in the song. I have to take an airplane to get there.

Eloise is not much of a traveler.  I have an adventurous spirit, and a job that leaves me months in the summer to travel, but alas, autism has grounded me for the last 14 years.  Natalie is making progress and on the little test trips I've taken her on. I'd say she's the best traveler out of my three.  So in the future, Eloise may be able to take her babies to see some sights around my beautiful country very soon.  But for now, I must rely on two friends to get me to my destination.

Did you ever take your dog to the vet after it had surgery or something?  Your pet recognizes the place and associates it with bad things and it does that mule-like stance and you have to drag it into your friendly, hometown veterinarian.  That's me in an airport.

Eloise, like her son Sam, is afraid of lots of things.  Thunderstorms, fireworks, and moths (yes, moths) flip Sam out.  I save my fears for the bigger things:  roller coasters, horses, Amish people, and airplanes (more on the third fear in a later post).

So I've been reading up on plane crashes and such.  You'd think that an avid LOST fan such as I would be okay with a plane crash now that I am on my fourth trip through the series.  Even if we do crash, I am sure it would be my destiny to  land on "the island."  I know where all the water is, where the caves are, and who not to trust (Ben).  Is it my destiny that I found this song by this artist?  Is "the island" calling to me?

John Denver died in a plane crash.  He must come from German descent like me.  Here is his birth name:  Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr.  


Look at what I found on the people's encyclopedia, Wikipedia:


(Eloise's synopsis)--Not only a singer/songwriter, John Denver was also a political activist and took special interest in environmental and human rights. John became close friends with one of my favorite people, Jimmy Carter and campaigned for him.  


NASA and space exploration were of particular interest to him.  In 1985 he was awarded NASA's Public Service Medal for his work to increase awareness of space travel.  Mr. Deutschendorf had a love of flying and became a pilot.  He was flying a plane similar to the one posted below, over the Pacific when it crashed, despite his over 2,700 hours of logged flying experience.  


 

Unfortunately John Denver loved his booze, too, and was cited several times for drunk driving, and even lost his pilot's license for awhile because of it.  He married and had two children, but his marriage ended in a bad divorce.


This taken from Wikipedia, was something I didn't know:  


Denver's first marriage was to Annie Martell of St. Peter, Minnesota. Their wedding was held at the Christ Chapel at Gustavus Adolphus College. Annie was the subject of his hit Annie's Song, which he composed in only ten minutes while on a ski lift in 1974.^[8] Denver and Annie Martell divorced in 1982 and the ensuing property settlement caused Denver to become so enraged he nearly choked his ex-wife, then used a chainsaw to cut the marital bed in half.  (Yikes, says Eloise.   Maybe if he would have spent more than ten minutes on that song............).


So, that brings us back to my ticking clock.  Friend #1 is a world traveler extraordinaire and is coming to kidnap me this evening.  I have turned the entire adventure over to her to plan.  I warned her.  If she wants me along for the ride, she has to take care of me.  Eloise has no sense of direction.  I couldn't find magnetic north even holding a compass.  My pint sized pals, who one stacked on top of the other would not equal my height, have convinced me that they are up for the job and that I will be fine.  I still need some convincing.


Yet, given a chance to be away for a few days with two lifelong friends is something that is way worth the risks and jitters.  I simply could not get by in life without my friends.  Let's hope they are still my friends upon my return.


I've turned the keys of the Lamp Post over to Ellen in case I get stranded and am delayed a few days.  She can log on to let you all know that I am alive and well.  Of course I've hidden the password to the blogger account in a series of 20 cryptic steps that involve digging, climbs, and decoding.  She'll eventually get it.  Ellen's a smart cookie and persistent like her Momma.  By the time she's on the last step I should be back.  After all, I don't want my daughter to be blogging about ME, now would I?


довиждане,
Eloise