If that plane leaves the ground and you’re not with him, you’ll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but soon — and for the rest of your life.

I’ve only been on an airplane twice in my life: once from Thunder Bay to Hamilton, and once back. I was afraid, and still am afraid of flying. But I think that the possible benefits you will gain far, far outweigh the risks and hassles that you would have to endure for a day.

And if Casablanca doesn’t move you, then maybe Magic School Bus will. In the immortal words of Ms. Frizzle: “Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!”

I’ll make this trip as easy as I possibly can for you. There’s no reason to worry or panic, and if you need help with anything, I’m just a phone call away. You’ve got that phone card, and you know you can use it anytime you need to.

There are, however, several other things that bother me. More or less prioritized for your convenience:

1. It’s something I’ve never done before, in a place bigger than I’m used to being in. I mean, our bus station was also a gas station. That’s just a bit different from a big huge airport that has 4 freakin parking lots. I can function anywhere in this town, providing functioning doesn’t require being able to see faraway stuff (see point 2). (Let’s face it, this place is small enough that most things aren’t far away anyway. ) But I don’t know crap about where anything is there, or what procedures are involved. Hell, there’s a town only 20 miles from here, and throughout my childhood we only went there once a year at most, so I’m not very used to *any* traveling.

2. I can’t see the broad side of a barn. (This is partially because there don’t tend to be barns in towns. ) When we go to McDonalds or someplace, I always get whatever someone else is having, because I can’t read the menu stuff they have behind the counter. I used to have the sundae flavors at Dairy Queen memorized because of this. There’s even been times walking around town when I wasn’t entirely sure where I was, and I had to cross the street to be able to read the street sign and reorient myself. (When I cross the street, I actually don’t look both ways because it’s easier to just listen to see if traffic’s coming. This tends to freak ppl out. ) So, given how huge this place is likely to be, it’ll be a miracle if I can (a) find where I’m supposed to go, or (b) recognize an employee to ask for help if I need it.

3. The security stuff would be annoying, but it in itself wouldn’t keep me from going. However, some of what I’d like to take (i.e. paints) would require checking my baggage, which is just another step I’d have to worry about not being able to find the right place, or having them lose my crap even if I did find it. Plus, having to take my shoes off for security would suck given that I tend not to wear socks in summer.

So, it’s not that I don’t wanna do it. It’s just that something that seems simple to most ppl turns into a big huge complicated thing for me, because of my lack of eyesight and experience. I could potentially get around the other limitations, but the eyesight limitation is physical and something I can’t make go away just because it’s inconvenient.

When things go wrong as they sometimes will.
When the road you’re trudging seems all up hill.
When funds are low and the debts are high.
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit.
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns.
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about.
When he might have won had he stuck it out:
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow –
You may succeed with another blow.
Success is failure turned inside out –
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are.
It may be near when it seems so far:
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit –
It’s when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown

*Hug* Good luck! Everything will turn out as it should.

~Amber