Print dated 2/23/03 for Grandma's birthday
I took my first transatlantic trip when I was 20 yrs old. My mom wasn't thrilled about the idea and much to my surprise, neither was my grandma. She was the brave one in the family so I thought she'd be on board when I told them I was going to spend a semester in France. My grandma was the one that said I didn't need to go to another country in order to learn a new language. She was missing the point. I just felt the need to go especially since I wasn't going to college to far from where I grew up.
When the day finally arrived, September 12, 2002, I was extremely nervous since I had no idea what I was doing and I hated the idea of a non-stop flight overseas. My mom and grandma decided to take the train ride with me to LAX, which is something they had never done for some of my other domestic flights.
We rode the blue line, then transferred to the green line and took the free shuttle to Tom Bradley International terminal. My mom was spewing out last minute motherly advice, and my grandma was all smiles and much to my embarrassment she collected beer cans to recycle along the way. She kept them in a non discreet bright blue grocery bag. My grandma had that blue bag full of cans in my picture with her. It was such an eyesore that I sepia toned the picture so the focus would be my grandma and I. Aside from my mom grabbing my camera to take a picture of Simon Cowell who was checking into first class on my same flight, I don't remember too many other details from that day. I just know I was extremely excited and I was happy my mom and grandma were there to bid me adieu.
I've taken other international flights since then but none have flown out of Tom Bradley, until recently. When I booked my flight for my trip with Habitat for Humanity, I didn't realize Turkish Airlines flew out of that terminal, which made me really happy. I don't travel nearly as much as I'd like to, and travel internationally much less. My flight to Romania ( via Turkey ) was also in September, the 29th to be exact.
I decided to take the same train route to LAX, but alone this time. I can't explain why it felt like I needed to. Probably because the two most influential people in my life were gone and I wanted to feel as if they were there with me, bidding me farewell and spilling last minute advice over my repetitive declarations that I am not 20 anymore. Once I got to the same terminal that served as a portal to a life changing journey, I felt ready to face the last epic journey of my 20s.
I missed them everyday of that trip. It felt weird not to call anyone to "check in" and confirm I made it ok. It was also weird not to send them postcards from every city I visited as they always demanded in their loving ways. Through the familial loneliness, the memories of the first time at Tom Bradley International Terminal with them made me smile and triggered the same type of excitement I felt as a fearless 20 yr old. I trust it'll always happen whenever I fly out of there in the future.
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