Seriously? You might die.

My mother wishes there were more time. She is annoyed that the plane takes off from JFK three days after graduation, and I will be gone for a year. Tonight I left school to see Willy Porter at the Mauch Chunch Opera House with my family. Mom sat behind me and rubbed my shoulders from time to time. Between songs Dad yelled out “banana” — a certain Lindeboom tradition — and I followed suit, never one to be denied a chance to be pegged as odd. On the way home, Brian began a story by saying “Apparently in 1881 -” I interrupted him, to say that no good story begins that way.

Uncle Mickey and Aunt Sally asked about Thailand’s political situation and I reported things were keen as a Georgia peach. Two years after the September coup, the ousted premier’s party is back in power with a huge mandate from Thailand’s rural poor. Mickey raved about a boat tour in Europe. “It’s just like being on a regular vacation except that you’re not the one driving. Your entire hotel just gets up and gos!”

He then told me he and Sally would be going to Thailand. Mickey who can hardly breath and Aunt Sally who struggles pouring tea from a full teapot. These are brave and intrepid souls and all I could think was, “Seriously? You might die.”