Dreams And Destinations - CH 4 of Becoming Thuperman

Not answering Sandra's question directly didn't surprise her at all. After playing together for about as long as I could remember, she was as used to me as I was her. So, when I threw her question back at her - where do you want to go? - she smiled because I was inviting her to talk. It was what she wanted to do anyway, just she was being polite enough to invite me to go first, but since I yielded, she too the cue.

"Well, I'd like to go to California," Sandra said. "From what Uncle Ray says about it, it's nice there. I mean, I see it on TV and it looks nice, but that's not like actually being there."

"I suppose not."

"I want to see the ocean more than anything else. That would be the first thing I'd like to go see."

"Does he live near the ocean?"

"Not right on the ocean, cause only rich people can afford that, but it's close enough and a whole lot closer than here, of course. Dad said it would take three of four days if not more to drive there from here. He talks about taking a vacation and going there, but we never have, because he'd have to find somebody to run the hardware store for him while he's away."

"He has people working for him."

"I know but he says it's not the same as him being there. Mom says he'll never take a vacation. So, if I'm going to see California, I guess I'll just have to go by myself."

"Well, if the only reason you're going is to see the ocean, there is one a lot closer. I mean all the way to California is pretty far just to see an ocean."

"I know that, silly," she punched my arm, not hard but playfully. "But even that one would take a couple of days. So I figure I may as well take a couple of more days and go to California to see my first ocean. That way I can start off seeing the biggest one in the world."

"I guess that makes some sense."

"I think it makes perfect sense. Anyway, I want to see something a lot bigger than Lake Michigan. It seems so big every time I've been there. I can't see across it but I know there is another side and it's only a lake, you know? I can't imagine an ocean, especially one as huge as the Pacific."

"But there's another side to the ocean too."

"Yeah, but it all the way on the other side of the world. And on the other side everything is different. The people look and dress in strange ways. When the speak it is with another language. Their houses and what they eat – everything about their lives is unusual."

"It isn't unusual to them."

"Because it’s them. We're unusual to them."

"I kind of think there is more about people that the same than what's different."

Sandra stared at me for a few moments.

"I'm just saying. It's probably just things you can't help but noticing that makes us different. But once you get past all of that, they're people too."

She leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. Then hastily she glanced to make sure my Mom and Dad didn’t see her doing that.

It wasn't the first time she'd kissed me like that. It wouldn't be the last. Just I never seemed to know when it was coming or what I did to deserve it. Still it was nice when it happened.

"So, how close does Uncle Ray live tot eh ocean?"

"A few miles. Encino is really in Los Angeles. It's kind of like Normal is right next to Bloomington."

"I see."

"If I was to go there, I could stay with him. His house is big enough. He has an extra room."

"You parents are going to let you go there?"

"I don't know. I'd have to ask them first."

"So this is still more like a dream than anything else."

She nodded. "The only one I told about it before you was Aunt Flo. I was asking her because she use to live there."

"So she told you hoe to get there?"

"No, not really. The only thing she said was that if I go there to make sure I pack a gas mask." She laughed. I did too as I understood she was referring to her Uncle Ray's reputation for passing gas.

"Okay, so it's your turn to tell me. Where would you like to go?"

"I'd like to see California, too," I said. "Maybe go to Disneyland, you know? It’s out there somewhere. Really, I'd like to travel just to see everything between here and there. So I'd like to go nowhere in particular but everywhere in general."

"There's a lot of everywhere to see between here and there."

I smiled.

"There are mountains, for one thing - big mountains. It’s not flat like it is here."

"You want to see it because it's like changing the whole world around you."

"Exactly." She settled back in the seat, nodding her head. "Yeah, that's why I want to go places, to see things I haven't seen before. I want to put a lot of dots on the map and fill in the names for the places, too – the ones I like, anyway."

"You're going to need a bigger map, I think."

"That one will do fine for a while, though. It's just a start. My world is still pretty small right now."

Our conversation lulled, not that it was anything unusual. What was different about this time, Sandra opened the book of mazes she brought along and used the time to teach me how to solve mazes. Never had I imagined there was a method to it! She said she figured it out one day after working on a few in a row. To her it was like playing tic-tac-toe once you get to the point that you always end up in a draw. Always she solved the maze quickly usually within a few seconds it seemed. The larger ones took her a minute at the most.

After using her method to solve a couple of the rather imposing labyrinths from the book, she pronounced me fully enlightened. Her actual words were, "I think you got it, now."

"So, why did you buy a whole book of mazes if you know how to solve everything in it within a few seconds?"

"Well, it takes longer than a few seconds. It takes longer than that to draw the path  through it, you know? Usually, I use a pen when I'm solving them at home."

"Wow!" Her confidence impressed me. "What if you make a mistake?"

"I don't make mistakes, not with puzzles, anyway. When I bought that book, though, I wanted to see if anyone came up with anything different. So far, none of the ones I've done are different. So, I decided I'd teach you. Now, you're as good at it as I am – or close to it anyway."

"Why don't you make your own, then?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you know how they are made so make one that would be a challenge for you to solve."

"But I'd know how it's done," she countered. "Where's the fun in that?"

"Make one that I can't solve. Since I know the trick you showed me it would be almost like you were solving it, right?"

"I guess it would."

"Sure, you can make a really hard one and see how long it takes me to solve it."

She laughed. "I'll learn how to make a maze no one can solve, then."

"That would be impossible, I think."

"Maybe not. It would be a challenge, though."

"I'll bet other people who are like you would enjoy it."

She grinned. "Maybe I'll do that. Make a whole book of them and sell them! I'll save all the money so I can get a bus ticket to California."

"You really want to go there, don’t you."

"I told you I did."

"Maybe I'll go with you."

"That would be cool. We could play games on the way. Dad says it’s really boring until you get to Colorado. It looks like it does around here but more so."

Having a dozen solved mazes under my belt, I was confident I could solve everything in the book if I took the time to do it. But I didn't want to do all of them because, then, Sandra would have to go buy another book. So I left the rest for her to do whenever she was bored enough to go back to them.

"Don't you don't want to solve any more?" she asked as she accepted the book.

"I'll wait for one of your puzzles. That will be a challenge."

"Yeah, I'll have to make that one as soon as we get home."

"Don't make it too hard, though. I'm not as expert as you are."

She chuckled. "Dad says an expert is someone who knows all the answers but doesn't understand all the questions." Bud said things like that all the time, which made it fun to talk to him. I don't think he came up with all those saying on his own, though. But he remembered anything funny anyone said to him. Also, in the hardware store he had signs with funny things like that written on them. People bought them to take home and put up on their walls. My dad had a couple of them.

One time when Sandra and I were in the store we went through all the signs and read the sayings. Some were pretty funny, which was the entire point. People enjoy laughing and prefer it to almost anything else. It's certainly better than crying.

"You did good, though. You learned fast," She patted me on the back. It was quite a sense of accomplishment for a guy who sometimes gets lost going to the bathroom in the dark at night – which is why there are nightlights in the house to show me the way.

By then, we had reached the point where Mom exited the Interstate. It was well to the south of the airport. At the time day – which was after rush hour – the traffic on Cicero wasn't bad and, according to her, that was the best way to get in and out of Midway on the south side.

It was still a ways to the airport, but at least we had something to look at along the way. We were entering the south end of the city. Sandra suggested we play Punch-Buggy which was a game that involves spotting any Volkswagen car, but especially Beetles - regardless of model year, and being the first to call out the color before punching your opponent in the arm. As you might imagine, Sandra was very good at the game, as she was everything we played. Still, it was fun.

With Sandra punch-buggy – once started – tends to be ongoing for at least the remainder of the trip. No matter what else distracted attention, it played on in the background. It gave us something to do when we weren't doing anything else – not even talking.

Several minutes and many traffic lights later, with the airport in sight, Dad started gathering up his belongings in anticipation of being dropped off. There was a suitcase in the trunk, but otherwise he had a briefcase and a backpack up front with him. He was going to be gone for four days, which meant a return road trip on Monday to pick him up. Already, I invited Sandra to come along, and she promised we would bring along plenty of things to do on the way.

Mom pulled up to departures. Sandra and I observed the rushing rat race around us, into which Mom was immediately immersed. She popped the trunk, while Dad got out and staged his things on the curb before meeting her at the back where he fetched his suitcase. Of course the trunk lid blocked our view, but we could tell Mom and Dad hugged and kissed. A couple of other cars honked – as if what they were doing was wrong or against the rules. Anyway, it hurried them along.

We all waved to Dad and Mom slipped in behind the wheel. Hastily she pulled away, merging into traffic, the focus of the whole trip seemed over. It happened so quickly. Like many things awaited in anticipation, arriving seemed a disappointment. Still, it occupied a good chunk of the morning.