Planes, Trains and Automobiles part 1

When I was little, my Aunt LoLita was my favorite person in the whole world. She and my uncle would travel a lot setting up grocery stores in the US and Europe. Sometimes when they would visit, my brother and I would get airline card decks and swizzle sticks. Whenever we were outside and saw a plane fly overhead, we would always wave and say “Hi, Aunt LoLita!”

When my mom, brother and I traveled from Kansas City to California where my dad had gotten work, we went by train. I was very young, maybe 4. My mom was busy with my baby brother and I had to sit by myself. The lady I was sitting next to took out a large chocolate bar and offered me some. *I had always been told I was allergic to chocolate, so I said no and explained why. At night I got up to go the bathroom and since everything was dark I had trouble trying to find my seat back. Someone on the aisle took my arm to guide me.

I’ve already written about driving from Kansas City to California to move my grandparents out to live with us. Several times when my brother and I were young, we would get in the car and drive a long ways (long to me, anyway) for vacation. We would stay in cheap motels with no TV. Boring as all get out for youngsters. My dad would make us drink prune juice in the mornings to keep us regular.

*Side note regarding the supposed chocolate allergy. When I was about 3 years old, my hands would break out a lot, get very sore, almost bleeding. At night my dad would apply some icky salve to all my fingers. I was told that it was because I was allergic to chocolate. I don’t remember when the “allergy” seemed to end, but at some point I wasn’t using the salve anymore and could eat chocolate. Many years later, my Aunt LoLita told me that it was all stress, in her opinion. Whenever I would spend a few days with her, she would put the tube of salve on top of the fridge and give me chocolate whenever I wanted and I had absolutely no ill effects.