Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
She laughed softly, reminding me of how often we toss our elders aside, forgetting to
love them when they need us most. Like Willy said, people found themselves disconnected
from love. And that's what he returned to Kay.
As I was leaving I kissed Kay on the cheek.
She giggled at the gesture, “I can give you the other cheek too.”
Laughter filled the house and followed me as I sat in the back of Willy's truck, while he
drove us back to his house for the night. As a cool summer night passed by me, I began to
think about the gifts I wanted to give. Sure, I had mapped out as much of my journey as I
could, had gotten my visas, was working on my transatlantic passage, but the one thing I
hadn't sorted out was whom I was going to give these gifts to. And what were the gifts sup-
posed to be, anyway? I had been waiting the last two days for inspiration to strike, and then
suddenly, sitting in the back of Willy's truck, inspiration came sailing in, or rather soared
above me. A plane.
Yes, a plane. That is what I could give Willy. I could give him and Chery a trip to attend
their son's wedding. I could send them home. But more than anything, I could answer their
unfulfilled dream—the one thing they wanted so badly, they were afraid to admit they even
wanted it at all.
That was the trick. It was getting to know people on such a level, connecting with them
in such a way that instead of thinking about me, I would pay attention to them, which might
very well be the deepest connection of all. I would try to hear, between their words, what
really mattered most to them. I wanted to give them a gift that would fulfill the dreams they
kept silent. And I wanted to learn to listen closely enough so that I could hear it.
After we all got home, we sat down in their living room. I felt very much at home.
Though there would be many strange nights in my future, where I would slip awkwardly
off to bed and try not to wake anyone when I left in the morning, that wasn't the case with
Willy.
“It must be difficult being so far away from your sons,” I began, gearing up for my big
surprise.
“Yeah it's been quite a while since I've seen them,” Willy told me wistfully.
Chery interrupted, clearly knowing what Willy wouldn't say, “Oh, he misses them every
day. No matter how old they are, you always feel like a part of you is missing when they're
gone.”
