Our story today begins when my mother picks us up at the train station. We all hug, get our bags in the car and begin to catch upon what has been happening since we've been gone. My mother begin with "So how was it it? Tell me all. I can't wait to hear about your adventures." Unc as usual mainitains a strict poker face and pretends it doesn't involve him. Leaving it to me to tell the tale. Now before I do, I want to bring you back to the conversation unc and I had on the train ride home. We sat together and I had the window seat. I initiate the subject by saying " Unc, what are we going to tell mama?" Stone faced he stares straight ahead as if he can't hear or see me. I repeat this time reaching over and shaking his left arm on each syllable " Unnnc! What are we going to tell mama?" I continue shaking until unc looks down at me for a warning signal to stop. I stop and begin lightly patting his shoulder saying " Well?" The seat frees up in front of us as a man in a gray pinstripped suit picks up his brief case in a huff and moves to another seat away from us. Seeing this unc makes a break for it and moves across from me . I go to follow and unc snaps a squint at me . Reading this as a formal request to have some space I settle back into staring out the window. Seeing the buildings and trees rush by, I drift into a sort of trance with the "choo choo choo" rhythm of the car on the tracks. The next thing I know I'm being shaken not stirred. Disoriented I look over at unc, who is shaking my left leg back and forth like some sort of call button. Returning to my present surroundings, I shake my head quickly and rub my face. I look at unc who is pointing his finger to my left. I look over and up to find the conductor saying " Destination?" I reply " We're going home." In a sarcastic impatient grin he answers " Yes, and as nice as that is, where pray tell young man might that be?" Getting that he has no idea where we live I say " Sorry sir, uhh Mount Kisco station." He asks "Where did you board"? I reply " You mean, where did we get on the train?" He nods and sighs loudly saying " Yes young man, I mean where did you board the train? " Sensing his impatience I smile and say " Why I apologize for stretching you to the limits of your patience for your fellow man. We, as you say boarded at GCT or probably better known to you as Grand Central Station. Technically it's a terminal, which was built in 1913 and not a station. Grand Central Station is the name of the nearby post office. It's also the largest terminal in the world." This disarming him, he replies " Wow kid not bad, not that many people know that. I'm impressed." He looks at unc and says " Is he always like this?" Unc closes his eyes and slowly shakes his head saying "You have no idea. This boys mouth and his brain aren't exactly in communication. In case you haven't noticed." Waving his hand he says " No I like him. He's got spunk. That'll be, let's see, one senior and one junior to Mt Kisco Station. For a total of $9.50. " He takes out his ticket puncher with one hand and the tickets with another. Before he can start punching I beg "Oh sir please please can you show me how you do that. It looks so cool like you're a gun slinger or something." Squatting down he explains to me the different zones, travel periods, seat sections and type of ticket. He quickly punches 4 holes. Then he flips the puncher in his hand and says" Here, see that #6?" He hands me the puncher and says" Go ahead punch it." I do and I feel awesome and hand the puncher back saying " When I grow up I want to be a conductor just like you." Both he and unc laugh and look at each other. The conductor says " I'm Mike nice to meet you..?" I quickly reach for his hand and say "Jody , my name is Jody and thank you." Standing up and snapping the tickets he puts one in the clip behind uncs' head and hands unc the other 2. Winking he say " Enjoy your ride on Metro North, Have a nice day." He moves on to the next passenger who doesn't even lift his head from his newspaper . He justs reaches in his jacket and shows him a monthly pass without looking at him or saying a word. As he moves down the asle ilook and see that people don't even see him as a person. How sad it that? I look at unc and start to say, but am cut off with a hand gesture and unc leaning forward patting my knee he says " That's why I stay around. You don't know it yet, but what's inside of you is very big and very rare. I would take care of it , if I were you. Now I've been thinking, we have to tell your mama something and it can't be a lie. So any ideas? " Shocked I say "You're asking me?" unc nods without speaking. I say " Let me think for a minute." Unc replies "A minute is about all we have this train is pulling in next stop." After running through all the options in my mind I say' Well, here's how I see it. We can't lie to mama and live with ourselves right?" He nods continuing I say " O.k. hear me out. Pretend you're mama." Unc smirks and tilts his head. I say "mama you're not going to believe what happened. We got in a gun fight. I almost got killed. We went to the hospital. Then guess what we did? We ran away and Leon was the get away man. We get there and battle gang members just like Clint Eastwood does. So what do you think?" Unc starts nodding and says "Maybe that head can be used for something other than a hat rack. What if she asks me?" Smiling do what you always do. Then in my best unc impression " Oh! Miss Ruth Don't bing me into this foolishness I ain't interested. I done had a whole week of it. Now leave me be" Now let's return to the drive home and see how it works out. Laughing mama says "Jody, you're a natural born story teller. Your grandfather would be proud. I have some intersting news of my own." Shocked that it actually work i exhale and say " Well spill woman I ain't got all day you know." Watching where she is driving she smiles that " you're using up my patience at an alarming wait" smile and says" "Be that as it may, we're leaving for Europe in 10 days. So what do you think of them apples?" I whip around and look at unc saying " Did you know anything about this?"Unc frowns and says "Boy don't drag me into the middle of your foolishness..." I interrupt saying and waving my hand " Yeah, yeah I Know leave you in peace. "Smiling he winks . I go to mama and say" Why? What about my girlfriend? What about summer camp?" We pull into the driveway and I jump out confused . I hear " Hey porter, want to give us a hand with these bag?" I do and decide that there are probably worse thing than going to Europe. The next 10 days go by so fast the next thing I know Mr. Everette is driving us to JFK international. Before we go to the airport, let me tell you a quick little story about the infamous "Everette Brothers Livery Service" It seems that 1 Everette brother saw the opportunity to jump ahead in business when his brother was changing a tire on the VanWick Expressway. He supposedly pulls over to help his brother when he accidently bumps the parked car . It just so happens Mr. Everette was under the car at the time. The car falls. I don't know the rest of the details, but the now handicapped one hates the other brother with a vengence. He swears revenge to any poor passenger who is willing to hear his tale of woe. We are just those types of passengers. Grateful to be out from the middle of the Hatfields and MCoys of limosine transport, we go to check in. This is where I actually start gettng excited about out upcoming adventure to Europe. An interesting detail most don't know about JFK is originally when it opened it called KIA(Kennedy International Airport). Those 3 letters were very popular in the news at that time, as the Vietnam war would refer to casualties of war as KIA(Killed in action). It was then changed officially to JFK. We go to the ticket counter, check our bags and head to our gate. No fuss, no muss remember this was in 1970's when air travel was at its best. We boarded what was then called a jumbo jet. It's a 747 with some extra frills like a small balcony with a spiral stair case where you can go up and sit. The in-flight movie is "Caberet". Our flying time will approximately 7 hours. This is not my first trip over seas flight. I came prepared. I have candy out the wazoo. Things like Charleston Chews, Sweet Tarts, Milk duds, Sugar Babies and a bunch of other stuff to keep me in a sugar buzz over the Atlantic. Caberet is a weird movie. I didn't understand it. I'm not a big fan of musicals. There's another movie that everyone is talking about. It's called the godfather. I hope that has a little more action. Soon we'll be landing in Paris at the Charles De Gaulle airport and going to the Paris Hilton. This had a completely different connotation than it does now. We land, pick up our bags and get a cab to check in. I'm starving, exhausted and getting crankier by the minute. Let's return to the Taxi. The car is a Peugeot which I am told is pronounced Poo-zhoe. The driver speaks English and is very friendly, he even has a beret. He asks if we would like a very inexpensive tour of Paris. I say yes, my mother says yes, but my father who speaks French says no. I'm not sure if this is the catalyst that triggers him or if this is how he drives normally. You as the reader would be well advised to fasten your seatbelt, since there are none in our taxi. There's no sense in both of us crashing.He starts ranting in French and progressively going up several decibels as the ride continues. It's at this point that I lean forward and introduce my self "Bonjour mon nom jem'appelle Jody. His foot immediately lifts from the gas as he turns around, looking at us instead of the road. O.k. so this is trading one problem for another. I try a different tack. I say " Parlez plus lentement s'il vous plait?" At this he lets go of the wheel and claps his hands. Saying "Oui,oui my little friend. I'm so accustomed to Americans not even trying to speak our marvolous language, that I don't listen anymore. I simply work on lyrics for my songs" I say " Cool you're a musician." He replies " Oui, tres cool with the women, if you know what I mean." By now he has returned his eyes to the road. He talks by looking in the rearview mirror and gesturing wildly with his hands. I would say that's a definite improvement over before. I reply " Not as well as you I'm sure, but I'm learning a few things here and there. He answers with both hands drawing a picture with his arms and hands. He must be driving this vehicle either with knees or he has another set of arms. I'm going with the knees. He smiles and says " I see mon ami you are beginning to navigate the waters of love. There is no better place to do it than here in Paris. Those places here and there you speak of I know well" I say " This is what I'm hearing. That this is the city of love." He makes a "U" turn and turns around and says something in French to my father. He answers what I believe to be yes. Then he reaches over and turns off the meter. Like I am going to do now. It's late and I will tell you the rest of the story of Jean-Paul and the out door cafe tomorrow. Thanks and goodnight Jody
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