Cathy's Creative Corner: The Day Trip
It’s the summer of 1967. After dropping off our infant sister, we’re on our way to Salem, Virginia, the home of Lakeside. Our parents are taking on the adventure of escorting five children between the ages of two and ten to an amusement park. Crammed into our old gray station wagon are my parents and baby sister in the front and my older sister, brother, a friend and myself in the back. It wasn’t long before my sister and her friend had crawled over the back of the seat and made the backend of the station wagon their territory.
“Watch out for that picnic basket,” Mom cautions. “We’ll eat lunch shortly after we get there.” That was a treat within itself! I’m sure Mom prepared fried chicken, deviled eggs and sandwiches wrapped in wax paper. I don’t know what it is about wax paper but it sure brings out the flavor of a sandwich! She’s also packed chips and filled a cooler with canned drinks, juices and water. From our home in Greensboro, it’s a two-hour drive to Lakeside. That’s going to be the longest two hours of my life!
Along the way, we’ve counted cows and picked out the pretty houses we’re going to buy when we get older. Every now and then, a car passes and we argue over who’s going to get it when they turn 16. After a while, it gets quiet and my siblings are nodding in and out of sleep. I’m too nosey. Glad I got a window seat. To my delight, I notice the station wagon slowing and I hear the flasher clicking. Are we there? Are we turning in at Lakeside? Nope, it’s just a gas station. Big disappointment. The attendant comes out as Dad exits the car. “I’ll get that for you, sir. How much you needing?” he asks.
“Just fill her up. Then I won’t have to stop on the way back home,” Dad answers. “Also, check the oil.” As the tank fills, the attendant adds oil and cleans the windshield. He’s looking at us in a strange manner. Are there too many of us in the car? Is he surprised to see a black family because Dad is very light skinned? He rushes off to meet Dad as he heads back to the station wagon. The attendant angles himself and Dad so we can’t hear what he’s saying. Please, don’t be saying we won’t be allowed in Lakeside. I’m sure my parents checked that out before planning this trip. After shaking the attendant’s hand and giving him a pat on the shoulder, Dad heads back to the car. It couldn’t have been bad news. Before getting in, he goes behind the vehicle and lets down the big back window.
“What was that all about?” Mom inquires.
“Oh, just an observation the guy made while adding oil. Everybody roll down your window and let’s enjoy the fresh air. Where’s all that excitement y’all had at first? We don’t have much longer so sit up and look happy!”
Within minutes, we had reached our destination, Lakeside. Lunch was everything I knew it would be! After putting everything away, we are ready to embark on our journey. The screams coming from the wooden roller coaster let me know I won’t be riding that. There really aren’t a lot of rides but it beats what’s in our backyard. However, the Pavilion has a lot of arcade games. I am in love with Skee Ball! No one can beat my scores! After a day of walking up and down the fairway and going in and out of the Pavilion, it is time to leave. We drag our tired behinds back to the station wagon, have an impromptu dinner, pack back in the vehicle and head home. “Make sure all the windows are down,” Dad announces. “And if I can’t go to sleep, no one else can either. So let’s hear what you liked most about today. The youngest goes first.”
Since our return home, I heard Dad tell Mom he was having the station wagon serviced the next day. That if it wasn’t for the observant gas station attendant, our day trip could’ve been our last day on earth. Said he’d never seen kids on their way to the park be so sleepy. That, along with the engine burning oil, could’ve covered up a deadlier problem. Something about carbon monoxide poisoning….
