Today is our last day at home. Robin and I will have to get up very early tomorrow to go to Indianapolis International Airport. Our first leg is coach, it’s a short trip from Indy to Detroit Metro Wayne County Airport. We have a long layover there, but we will fly first class from Detroit to Honolulu‘s Daniel K Inouyue International Airport. Oh! I forgot to mention the third wheel for this vacation. Ranger!
Ranger and I go back a looooonnnng way. He and I have been through dozens of states. I don’t want to name drop…but he’s been with the actor Tom Arnold, and Senators Lugar and Coats, and now he’s going to make his first trip to Hawai’i.
Ranger has been a way for me to stay connected first to my daughters, and now to the Devilish Duo, my grandsons Roman and Stevie. I take pictures of Ranger on the trip, often concocting scenarios that cause the recipients to smile, giggle or laugh. He’s been an effective tool for maintaining familial connections over long distances.When I first mentioned Ranger to Robin, we had our first Vortex of Death appear above her head, and I smelled a very strong scent of vanilla. If you read Day of Rest, you might recall that the scent of vanilla meant that someone was going to die. The scent is significant because I have anosmia, so I don’t have a sense of smell. Robin did not want Ranger coming along.
After some cajoling, and an intervention by Jessica, Robin relented, so Ranger can come along. The scent of vanilla receded, and our preparations continued. It occurred to me to me that I have a guaranteed solution to the troubles in the Middle East. We insert Robin into Gaza, and let the Vortex of Death take care of everything. Plus there will be a very nice scent of vanilla everywhere.
So we are set. All that separates us from a tropical paradise is a few hours of bureaucracy and the joys of public travel. All old hat for me. I just enter into a mindset of, “It’s all good.” Plus, I’ll have Ranger. I hope snow leopards can’t sunburn.
Meditations of a Bald, Fat Guy 