Tuesday, September 30, 2003

My lovely Galahad got up early today to gas up my car (well his actually) and check the tires, etc.  Laugh, I was driving down to the jungles of Miami, and he was making sure my safari vehicle was properly maintained.  He switched cars with me cuz I normally drive the newer one and we both were a little leery of leaving that at Miami Airport.  I washed my hair and finished up packing for my journey to the far north.  It felt weird to throw in turtlenecks while I'm standing around in cutoffs and a half-tee.

I loaded up everything and then remembered that I should print my boarding pass to make things easier to get through security.  I turned the PC back on and tried not to get sidetracked by last minute emails.  I'm so easily distracted.  :p

I began the long, perilous drive down, remembering that it's still part of the US so I won't need my passport.  I called Galahad to say goodbye and he looked up last-minute instructions on how to get to the airport from the turnpike.  I was just going to wing it, but exact directions are always better.  ;)  About one mile after I crossed the county line, I got back into Miami-driver mode.  It isn't pretty.  ;)  I started weaving in & out of traffic and began to feel at home.  I'm also happy I have the older car as the roads are not as nice anymore. 

I watched the clock and the storm clouds moving around.  I hit a few patches of rain but nothing too fierce.  I varied my speed by how close I was cutting the time with how heavy the rain was.  As I exited the expressway to get to the airport, I felt an overwhelming wave of emotion.  Somehow that exit triggered a childhood memory of my mother that was incredibly strong.  I felt the tears blur into my vision.  I choked back a sob and tried to keep my emotions checked so I could navigate my way.  It worked but a part of me felt guilty for having shoved her memory aside.

I parked my car and traversed the long path to locate my gate.  As I was sauntering through the morass of humanity, I began to realize that I was the ONLY white person there.  Every single person that I studied was of Latin, Caribbean, or European birth.  I forgot how chivalrous Latin men can be.  ;)  It was a nice change.

I stopped to buy a genuine greasy Cuban sandwich for my lunch.  Yum!  While I was eating it, tucked away in a corner of the terminal, I let myself think about what happened when my mother's memory popped into my head.  I'm not sure what happened but the same memory didn't provoke the same visceral response this time.