Those 70ish Girls

Life’s a Trip by Val Halla

Have you ever thought you could not possibly accomplish something difficult? You doubted your own ability. It’s too tough, it’s monumental, like climbing Mount Everest, swimming across the river , without a life vest, a tweed vest, any vest.

I’m here to tell you, text you, email you, call you, shout it out: You can do more than you fathom is possible.

You are capable.

You are stronger than you think.

You should challenge yourself.

Life’s not going to throw fun opportunities at you. You have to go get them.

I checked into my hotel and got settled. I texted my son and decided on a time to meet for lunch the next day and said I would be bringing my cousin Mary and Uncle Gus who had chosen a restaurant right next to their hotel. They didn’t have a car and they didn’t know what Uber was. They could barely spell it and a taxi was too much. I was their chauffeur. It was coming together or so we thought.

I didn’t think I could drive the CA freeways taking 6 hours to see my family in LA. But I packed up my new car, got gas and grabbed the dog, dog food and took off. I did it. I drove to Los Angeles to see Aunt Loretta’s husband Gus- Uncle Gus – for his 94th birthday and Cousin Billy’s wife turning 80. As a bonus, Cousin Mary flew in for the celebration and she had one free window of time on a Saturday. She was attending a special luncheon, semi formal dinner and a picnic so she could barely fit me into her weekend party schedule. She was invited as a chief member of the family- (Gus is her stepdad) – and she seemed very busy, but I think she was just playing hard to get. I persisted.

If you have ever seen The Californians on the SNL comedy series, that’s exactly how they drive and think of themselves in LA. “You take the 5 to the 210 to the 134, head south on the 5, then transition to the 110, take the right exit off 6th street, pass the In-n-Out…”

I have to admit that I would never have gotten to LA without GPS. It was like a cacophony of vehicle noise and overpowering freeway signs when you enter the explosive multitude of lanes and people in The City of Angels. They must have a large group of employees just behind the creation of signs displayed above the 8 or 9 lanes and exits on I 5, south, north and the 405, the 110 and you name it. You must stay alert because your lane can lull you into thinking you’re safe and then it disappears and poof, you’re snapped into action finding another lane praying it’s taking you the right direction and then the correct exit. You can get sucked into the freeway vortex. The GPS lady tries her best to keep up and help you. If you panic, she will suggest a special California therapist for you. Even they know the stress of freeway travel. They have experience to ease your troubled mind.

I found the hotel in Glendale and went up to their room. There was no one to help me in the lobby, just some robot screen that wouldn’t talk to me. I relied on my own brain and feeble memory and texting. Welcome to the future. I got into the elevator and pressed 2. Luckily there weren’t any more choices.

Uncle Gus saw me walking down the hall and said hello and I gave him a hug. Mary was in the bathroom. I had my dog so Gus petted her and talked about how they took the train from Ontario to LA. I sat in a chair and gave Gus his birthday gift. He liked it and my dog liked the comfy bed. Mary emerged and we had a great reunion. We hadn’t seen each other since a Jones County Reunion a couple years ago but the years melted away. She looked almost the same.

She curled her hair as she walked me through what had happened in the two days she had been in LA. Like Sandersons do, we talked about other people who weren’t there and therefore had no way of defending themselves. We covered cousin Bill- her brother- and some of their family members. There had been a dinner cancellation for that night at a fancy restaurant so I was invited after all! Ninny,my dog, was not invited, so I had to graciously turn it down. Besides I didn’t have any fancy clothes. Mary showed me what she would be wearing. I was impressed. It was all black and red stuff, a red top and flimsy flowery flowing jacket to match with basic black pants. She had strappy shoes. She talked a lot about her hair and how short it was in the back. I told her it was way shorter in back. She said to never get your hair done right before a trip to meet relatives. I agreed with her.

Turns out the restaurant right next door to their hotel wasn’t open until dinner so I texted my son to find us another place fast! I also mentioned I had my 8 pound dog, but we could hide her in the soft sided kennel. I said that my cousin and Gus didn’t care what they ate, just so we could talk and slap our knees when we laughed at the stories we were telling.

My son texted where to meet and after getting Gus settled in the backseat of my SUV with Ninny, Mary in the passenger seat acting as my navigator, we tried leaving to go to lunch except my car kept buzzing at me, another pesky robot or computer. I found the icon on the screen, jumped out and fixed Gus’s car door as he chatted on his cellphone like a 94 year old teenager…94 is the new 14.

We got to the restaurant with Mary’s expert directions from her GPS avoiding freeways thankfully. There were Matt and friend Jeanne waiting at a table out on the sidewalk at a cute little cafe. We made it.