The crew and I arrived via bus back at POR at 4:30 pm. We wanted to be sure not be late for our limo that was going to be there at 4:45 pm sharp. That’s what they told me, be there on time because THEY would be and that’s what I believed.
I AM an idiot, remember?
At 5:00 pm I had taken a Xanax because I had to get on another plane and I was starting to get stressed-out because our limo still hadn’t shown up. Commando Nikki wasn’t very upset about it this time because it was okay with her if we missed our plane.
Until I informed her that we would be sleeping in the airport until there was another plane headed north and that could be the next day. There was no possible way for us to spend another day in Disney.
Then she became unglued, stuttering & stammering like a drunken person, pacing up and down the sidewalk like the limo could be there next to the empty sidewalk and somehow we had over looked it.
I handed her over to Scuba Steve to deal with while I called Star Taxi/ Limo. The lady on the other end of the phone said, “Yeah, got your reservation right here, what’s the problem?”
Ah, the fact that I don’t have of a limo, maybe? Why else would I call? Just to say Hi?
The girl on the phone decided I was crazy, there had to be a limo there and put me on hold, where I stayed for 15 more minutes.
Scuba Steve started to get nervous about missing our plane. He was trying to talk me into just paying for another cab and getting to the airport while the girls sat on the sidewalk with the 1⁄4 ton of luggage.
Scuba Steve wasn’t aware that I had just gotten a Xanax bravery going. I wasn’t spending more money for a ride I had already paid for. No way.
Then I went from being on hold to being hung up on.
My response to THAT was to drop to my knees with the phone held up in the air and scream
at the top of my lungs ‘NOOOOO!’ into it.
Xanax, okay?
That response attracts CM’s very quickly if you should ever need one.
A very sweet CM girl came to my rescue and said she would be happy to call Star Limo/Taxi and get our ride there right away.
She didn’t have a special hot-line phone either because they put her on hold for another 15 minutes too.
It was then 5:30 pm and our plane was leaving at 7:00 pm. I was just about to tell the very sweet CM girl to call ANYBODY with a car that could give us a ride when she started pointing at a Star Limo/Taxi driver that had showed up.
He was there for a completely different family that wasn’t leaving for another half hour.
Commando Nikki went straight from being a live-out-loud, Disney-loving, pixie dust spreading sweetheart into a charging bull who just saw a red cape. She stood there ready to blow up when Scuba Steve stepped in, pushed her aside, told the driver our situation and asked him if he had any clue where our driver was.
The driver didn’t but assured us we were probably going to miss our plane.
No kidding, ya think?
Seeing where this driver had a 1⁄2 hour to kill and I had already paid for the services maybe HE could take us?
I told him if he could get us to the airport I would make it worth his while. He drove like the RnR limo, brought us directly to the curbside check in and had our 1⁄4 ton of luggage on the sidewalk in about 10 minutes.
He earned himself a $20 tip, and I suggested to him that he start working for ANY OTHER car service because I was telling 55,000 of my closest friends about this one.
And I did!
Love ya, mean it. How do you like me now?
The flight to our next layover was a bit crowded for me because Commando Nikki & Beatlebum had to spread out all over my folding table to do their homework. Beatlebum wanted to sit by the window and Commando Nikki was on the isle on terrorist alert. I was stuck in the middle.
I was also on terrorist alert but was checking the inside of my eyelids for leaks. There isn’t enough Xanax in this world to knock me out that much.
We arrived in Cincinnati for our layover. My crew kept asking me why we were in Cincinnati and I had no idea, but maybe it was because that was where they decided to land the plane.
They wouldn’t let me fly it, so I just went where they wanted to take me.
Scuba Steve took the girls to Cinnabons for a snack. I went and sat in the smoking area and took out my cell phone. I was running my thumb over the buttons thinking about calling my mom, when I noticed I had a voice mail.
It was from Brothers wife.
She had a lovely time, wanted me to know they arrived safely in Tennessee and couldn’t WAIT to see us again.
I thank God she DIDN’T say ‘Love ya, mean it.’ and spoil it for everyone.
I was still sitting there with my mouth open when Scuba Steve came back with the girls and their treats.
I played the message for the crew and they were in as much shock as I was.
She had obviously thought she called Disney merchandise; it couldn’t have been for us.
When I spoke to Brother a few days later he told me they rode back to Tennessee packed in the van nice and tight without speaking one word to each other. Not one. No matter what she tried to say to him, he wouldn’t respond. Her phone call to me was her way of getting Brother to talk to her. ‘See, I called your sister. Everything is fine.’
She’s okay with my voice mail. She didn’t talk to me. My voice mail can be very forgiving.
We boarded our next plane for New Hampshire where I was hoping to find my truck that I had left there nine days earlier. I had no clue where I left it; I hadn’t planned on ever seeing it again.
I am glad I brought an adult with me, because Commando Nikki at least knew which lot it was in.
After we got off our plane at 1:00 am and collected our 1⁄4 ton of luggage, we boarded the bus that takes you to the different lots around Manchester Airport. Each one of the crew was looking out a different window with their faces pushed up against the glass while I kept pushing the power-lock button to make the headlights flash so we could spot it.
Next time you see a parked vehicle with its headlights flashing, you’ll know the vehicle is lost. It’s probably mine. We are probably on a bus looking all over town for it.
The adult we brought along also knew enough to pack our sweatshirts for easy access once we found the truck. Commando Nikki had one ready for everyone while Scuba Steve & I walked around the truck in damp shorts and scraped frost off the windows.
Commando Nikki is handy everywhere. That one is always thinking. I need her to adopt me.
The following morning my mom came over to see the girls and their fine gifts and prizes. We showed her all the ride photos, Discovery Cove photos, and the 87 miles of video we took.
I was going through Disney depression. I felt like the entire vacation was a bust and I was a little disappointed. I had made all kinds of plans to do different things and for one reason or another they kept falling though. I felt like the kids didn’t get to do certain things, there were so many problems with Brothers’ wife, and I felt so bad for Brother. It helped to know we would be planning another trip, and with luck Chris would be able to go too.
But I really felt like this trip was a one shot thing. Chris is in the service and can get deployed at anytime. Commando Nikki will be starting college somewhere in the fall. I am really going to be lucky if we can all get together again, all six of us.
But I believe in the magic of Disney and I have since my dad was alive. That’s why I kept my mouth shut on so many different occasions. Kids don’t remember what they got on whatever birthday or from whom they got it from on any Christmas.
They always remember a trip to Disney. Ask anyone who is an adult now that went to Disney as a kid.
They all remember it. Loved it or hated it, good and bad, they remember it.
Somehow it will happen, the six of us will be together again pinch-fighting, sunburn slapping and stiff-armed, stiffed-leg fast walking to the monorail in Disney again to have breakfast with Chuck & Dave.
I believe.
It was my mother who told me, “One day, you will look back on all of it and laugh. Try to find the humor in it.” It was because of her I went back through my photos and looked at the faces of my kids and the videos of them being foolish. She was right; the trip was a huge success even with all its problems.
We have some great lifetime memories.
So with my mothers’ advice I sat down at my computer to find the humor in it.
I had 55,000 close friends that needed to know what I found out. Love ya, mean it.