Unaccompanied Minor

This evening I took Erin down to Union Station, where she boarded an Amtrack train to Michigan to visit the Rappaports.  When Erin first asked me if she could take the train all by herself for the visit, my instinct was absolutely not!  But the more I thought about it, the more I thought, why not?  She is, after all, a mature 14-year-old-almost-high-schooler.  I reasoned that if I saw her to her seat in Chicago, and the Rappaports met her at the gate in Michigan, it would be ok.

For the record, sending a minor on Amtrack is nothing like sending a minor on an airplane.  Unaccompanied minors in airports are treated almost like rock stars.  There's the personal escourt to the gate after one crosses security.  There's a little bit of fuss by the flight attendants on the plane, which is followed by another escourt off the plane at the end of the flight.  It's not quite the same on Amtrack.

I wasn't sure at what point I'd need to say good-bye to Erin, but it was my goal to see her to her seat, unless I could hand her over to a uniformed attendant who would guarantee an escourt all the way to her seat.  At each juncture, I let everyone know that I was with Erin, I did not have a ticket, and was it ok if I continued on with her?  The agent who issued the ticket said yes.  The line organizer responsible for an orderly que down to the trains said yes.  I didn't notice the NO GUESTS BEYOND THIS POINT sign as the ticket was checked again and we entered the tunnel where the trains are held, but the agent there waived me thru when I said I didn't have a ticket, but could I please escourt my daughter a bit further.  I walked with Erin all the way to the door of the train.

The woman making the final check to be sure we were, in fact, headed to Michigan and not Milwaukee waived me thru, and allowed me to get on the train with Erin.  I made sure she was settled in her seat before making my way back to get off the train.   And that's when it started.

The conductor said to me, "Ma'am, would you please take your seat, we're about to take off," and I replied, "Oh, I don't have a ticket, I was just seeing my daughter to her seat."

WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE A TICKET?!  YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED ON MY TRAIN WITHOUT A TICKET!  ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT MY TRAIN HAS TO LEAVE LATE BECAUSE YOU HAD TO SEE YOUR DAUGHTER TO HER SEAT?!

Um, yeah.  Just call me an overprotective mom.  That's what I thought.  What I actually said was, "I'm so sorry, I'm leaving right now."

As I began walking back toward the lobby area, I saw three of Chicago's Finest walking toward me.  I thought Wow, who's causing such trouble on the train that it takes three cops to handle?  Then I noticed one cop hung back while the other two approached me.  "Ma'am, what are you doing here?  You are in a secure area; you are not allowed this close to the trains without a ticket.  This is a restricted area, didn't you see the signs?  You do understand that this is a security issue, right?  You are violating Homeland Security laws by being in this area."

While these policemen spoke in a much quieter voice than the conductor had, their message was very clear:  I was a perceived threat.  I had no idea that making sure Erin was safe on her train would cause such a stir!  I also had not realized that President Obama was touching down at O'Hare within the hour (celebrating his 50th birthday with some hometown fund raising), and the city was on heightened alert.  I couldn't have picked a worse time to breach security.  I apologized profusely to the cops, and explained to them that I was just seeing my unaccompanied minor onto the train, and that at each point I had asked for - and been granted - permission to move forward.  Thankfully, they let me off with a stern warning to NEVER enter that area again without a ticket (I won't!), and that was the end of it.  Although I half expected them to send someone to follow me to my car to make sure I left.

Erin called when she reached the Rappaport's house, and her leg of the journey was far less eventful than mine, and she arrived safe and sound.  Baird's picking her up at Union Station on Saturday, and I'm sure he'll wait in the designated area for our Unaccompanied Minor's return.

Sox Game

On of my favorite ways to celebrate summer in the City is by attending a White Sox game.  Bre, Vic, Drew and I enjoyed a fabulous tailgate meal before heading into the park to watch the game.

Pods or Social Groups?

Erin's making quite a name for herself at Brookfield Zoo this summer.  As she was reading thru the fact sheets that the volunteers are given, she noticed that it mentioned dolphins travel in pods.  Actually, they don't - they travel in social groups.  The difference is that a pod is a group that's all related by blood, and while a social group hangs out together, they're not related.  Erin knew this because she's read Randy Wells' extensive research on dolphins in the wild.

Erin pointed out the inaccuracy of the dolphin fact sheet to her YVC supervisor, who did an online search about pods vs. social groups.  The online research supported the fact sheet.  Erin stood her ground.  "Randy Wells' research says dolphins run in social groups, and since he's affiliated with Brookfield Zoo, I think the fact sheet needs to be changed," she maintained.  "Bring me hard proof," replied her supervisor.

Erin emailed Randy, whom she met last month at a special lecture on whales.  This very busy, well-known dolphin researcher returned her email in an hour, and confirmed her position:  dolphins travel in social groups.  He also emailed up and down the Zoo foodchain, letting them know about the correction.

I've always told Erin she needs to come up with a "Plan B" should the dolphin trainer thing not work out.  It seems at this point her Plan A will work out just fine.

Drew's Big Heart

Drew and I have been doing a study of I Peter this summer, in preparation for the Bible Bee event next month.  Today we were challenged to do something nice for someone and expect nothing in return.  Drew decided he wanted to make chocolate chip cookies and give them away to friends and neighbors.  He donned an apron and began cooking.

Drew made a double batch, and we kept just two dozen cookies for our family.  He blessed several friends and neighbors with his homemade goodies.  He said he really liked seeing the joy on people's faces when he handed them the cookies, and that everyone loved the fact that he used real butter!

Drew has made great strides toward maturity in the past few months, and it's been fun to watch.  He's always had a big, generous heart, but this ability to offer up a good deed and expect nothing in return is a new step for him.  I'm so proud of him!

Cousins Camp - Last Day

All good things must end...today the cousins packed up and left Grandma and Grandpa's a little earlier than usual. This year, Cousins Camp ended with the Farmer's Day parade.

I absolutely love the Farmer's Day parade!  It's held the Saturday morning of Jesup's annual Farmer's Days.  Somewhere, my parents have really old silent home movies of my sister and me riding our tricycles in the parade when we were really little.  I don't remember a ton about that particular parade, other than the very loud BOOM! that got the parade started, and the terribly hot, long ride on my trike.  I'd never realized how long the parade route was until I had to peddle it all by myself!

The reality is that the parade route starts on the north edge of town, on Sixth Street up by the high school.  It heads south toward the middle of town before turning around and heading back north again.  We always sit on the lawn of the Methodist church - my parents were married there and my Grandma Hodges played the organ on Sunday mornings for years.

The Farmer's Day parade is the epitome of rural Americana, and whenever I have a chance to witness it, my heart swells with pride for my country and for my small-town roots.  The parade starts off with an escourt by the County Sherrif, followed by the Color Guard carrying the American flag, which leads the procession of vetrans.

It's the reaction of the crowd that makes this part of the parade so special.  As the flag passes by, every single person stands and is absolutely silent.  No one suggests this should happen.  No one enforces it.  It's just the way it is, year-in and year-out.  And as soon as the flag passes, the crowd remains standing, and bursts into applause to show appreciation for the veterans as they pass by.  This simple display of patriotism and gratitude for those who have served our country is, in my mind, at the heart and soul of what makes this country special.  It's ordinary people who appreciate that other ordinary people have done extraordinary things.

The parade is comprised almost exclusively of locals.  The florist shop in town handed out carnations; the politicians up for re-election in the fall handed out their fliers and shook hands with the crowd; the local sports teams rode on top of floats they had designed; the volunteer fire department brought out the old, old engines; there were tractors from the 1930s and 1940s that had been lovingly restored; and of course there was a marching band.

It's also local tradition that class reunions for Jesup High School are held during the Farmer's Day weekend. As part of the festivities each class participates in the parade by decorating and riding on a float.  This year is Mom and Dad's 50th class reunion.  Dad drove the tractor that pulled the decorated wagon that carried his fellow Class of '61 classmates.  He snapped these pics of the cousins while driving by:

 

Cousins Camp - Day 3

Cousins Camp, third day highlights:

Fontana Nature Center...

...Swimming...

...quiet time...

...Diet Coke and Mentos (yeah, it really did go higher than the house!)...

...a new card game called Maui, Maui that started in the house...

...and finished outside by the fire pit.

I love the memories that are made at Cousins Camp!

Cousins Camp - Day 2

Highlights from the second day of Cousins Camp:

Puppies...

...milking cows and feeding calves at Hansen's Farm...

...badminton with racquets acquired in yesterday's treasure hunt.