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January 25, 2005
La familia.
My flight leaves at 8:10 Arizona time, which means waking up by 5:30 so we can get on the road and be at the airport in time enough to deal with the interminable screening process.
Don't get me wrong; I appreciate the need for increased security. I just think that they should require highly trained professionals to work at TSA, not just chowderheads with clean urine who like to wear tidy uniforms and inconvenience others.
Perhaps it's just late-night crankiness, but all the TSA staffers I can mentally conjure are folks who couldn't pass the Municipal Parking Enforcement civil service exam.
This has been an interesting few days out of town. There are a lot of SUVs out here in the desert, and at least 80% of them have tacky, fading "support your troops" magnetic yellow ribbons on the tailgate. I guess these slack-ass patriots finally figured out that you're not honoring Old Glory by affixing her to your fucking antenna.
I got to drive both parents' vehicles during this trip; the sporty Japanese sedan and the way-cool, space age minivan. It was interesting to drive cars that press you back into the seat when you accellerate, but it made me miss the sensible subcompact we drive around our city. And of course, the beautiful woman who owns it.
Saw plenty of family this trip; my dad's brother and sister, my great-aunt, and a second cousin who dropped in for dinner tonight as he was driving through town. I missed my great-uncle -- he and his wife left the day before I arrived. My dad's brother is an interesting, funny guy. As it turned out, we were both in Cancun within days of one another in December, and he also got a sunburn.
I hadn't seen my great-aunt since I was about 11 or 12. She's in her late seventies, but she's as sharp as a box of tacks. She had me add my number to her cell phone's speed dial, so I expect to receive (and place) a few entertaining calls in the near future. If we're still in the country when my annual family reunion occurs this July, I have to attend. I'm very curious about these people with whom I share history and genetic material -- and I made a promise to an old woman.
I'm looking forward to being home, even though it's been excellent to see family. L is working on a book proposal and tying together the loose ends of a recent home purchase, so she stayed in Ess Eff. A moment doesn't pass that I don't think about her.
My Treo keeps her close, however virtually. I keep fiddling with the device, sending her notes like "pls save Medium on the TiVo," or "I love you beyond all reason and measure." The Treo also contains many photos. My great-aunt caught me thumb-typing this evening:
"Your sweetie?"
"Well, no I'm just --"
"Don't be embarassed. Nothing wrong with being in love."
At my dad's request, I'd processed several photos from the weekend on his Epson. I'd slipped in a few of me and L at home and in Cancun. They were drying on the dining room table later when Great-aunt Octavia walked past and spotted one of me and L, her head on my shoulder. In the photo, L's hair is a radiant reddish-pink, like bright bouganvilla. Octavia tapped the photo.
"Is that her hair?" A real question, not a judgement.
"Yes, that's shortly after she dyed it."
"That's not a wig?"
"No, ma'am -- that's her actual hair color." I pointed at a different image of me and L in my dad's backyard, her tresses reflecting every hue in the desert sunset. "That's what it looked like a few months later, before it faded to this." I held up my Treo so she could see a very blonde L looking drop-dead gorgeous.
"My! She's lovely. That is a beautiful head of hair, don't care what color." She looked up at me. "You bringing her to the family reunion?"
"Well, if we're not traveling, I'll definitely try to make it."
"That's fine -- but will you bring her with you?" Octavia looked me right in the eyes, and it seemed less like a question.
"If we're in the country, I'll come. I'll ask her if she'll come with."
Octavia nodded her approval. "That's good. Bring her. If you're together and you love her, she's family, so she should come down." She turned to walk away, so I barely heard her say "and if anyone gives you some shit, you bring them to me."
Posted by Your Protagonist at January 25, 2005 09:05 PM