For years, I tried to get the girls to go on an overnight trip. I finally wore Red down. She gave in, and we’ve had some great adventures since then. The question was, would she travel across the country with me and the Judge? She debated and came up with all kinds of excuses. Finally, after her husband intervened, she consented. I booked the flight before she could back out.
Red was nervous as we headed toward our gate at the airport that June 2018 morning. It was her first time to fly. We had no trouble getting checked in and through security. We stopped in front the liquor store and joked about getting her a stiff drink before boarding. They weren’t even opened that early.
The call came to board. I let Red have the window seat. Since she had never flown, I thought she’d like to be able to see the scenery change right before her eyes as we traveled west. The Judge slid in next to her, and I was on the aisle seat. The door closed, and Red started twitching. Soon we were rolling down the runway. The nose of the plane started lifting in the air. She grabbed the Judge’s hand. I told her to hold her feet up so we could take off. She looked at my questioningly. We were well in the air, and they still held hands. By the time I pried her white knuckled fingers off the Judge’s hand, she had calmed down just a smidgen. Of course, her hesitation to sit by the window may have had something to do with one of her assigned tasks for the trip. I had told her, “You get the window seat. It’s the best place to sit. If the window gets busted out, your job is to stop up the hole. The Judge will grab your feet and I’ll grab hers. It’s all good.” (Just a week or so before, a lady had been sucked out of a plane when the window was busted out)
Red had another assigned job, too. I told her that one reason I wanted her to go on this trip was because I needed bear bait. Now some folks would know exactly what that meant, but I had to explain to my traveling companions. I asked them, “Do you know what bear bait is?” “No.” “If we come across a bear and it chases after us, I need someone that runs slower than me.” For some reason, she didn’t appreciate my confidence in her skills nor her assignment. She looked at me real mean, and I was the one taking her on a once-in-a-lifetime grand adventure!
We made the flight just fine. Red had settled in and even enjoyed the flight as the world changed beneath us. The plane landed in Bozeman, Montana. We were off the plane in no time and went to gather up our luggage. The next thing we had to do was get our car rental. Of course, the smaller SUV I had signed up for turned into a large SUV I didn’t sign up for. Oh my!
I like to talk to the locals. The young man who waited on us was a student at Montana State in Bozeman. He asked if we were going to Yellowstone. I told him we were. He said, “The bears are bad this year. Be sure and watch out for them.” I cut my eyes over at Red. We all started laughing. I told him that was okay because I brought my own bear bait. Then I pointed to Red. He said, “Oh, so she runs slower than you?” Later when we stopped at my cousin’s house and then my aunt’s house, I told them Red was bear bait. Did you know that they said the same thing with a chuckle added, “Oh, so you must run slower?”
We got to test my theory (at a distance) – and let me tell you, bear bait can run faster than you think! The sequel to this story, “Bear. Bear! IT’S A BEAR!!” will follow in this blog at a later date.