my family never went on holiday.
wait – that’s not right. one time we drove an hour-and-a-half north to a place called ‘robber’s cave’. it was cut short, however, because my sister decided to take a bite out of my ass.
but that’s another post.
this is about holidays. or lack thereof. we just never had enough money. my father was working 2 jobs, along with coaching my basketball team, just for the 5 of us to get by.
vacations were something for the wealthy.
so, whenever I first heard about Hawaii from a girl who I once traded letters with, I looked it up on the map.
it was a lot farther away from Tulsa than the caves that hurt me.
it was a world away.
so when I get the call that I’m being flown, fed and put up by the Hawaiian Tourism Agency to write/film about their ‘budget’ side, I simply have to shake my head.
am I excited? yes I am – but you couldn’t tell.
I guess because at some point, I realized that I will never work as hard as my parents did, yet for some reason get to head places they’ll never see.
and that just doesn’t seem fair.
My family did better than most, I think, but my father was still one of those corporate men who took the 2-hour train in to Manhattan from the Island every day and back again to put meat on our table.
But you have to think… they do that stuff so that we could have it better than they did. Hard to feel bad that they succeeded, eh? And nobody handed either of us anything. We worked for what we had, and we worked hard. We had people setting a good example for that.
They’re proud of you. So am I. Put that in your hula skirt and shake it.
Similar story here. My Dad did not venture out much until the last few years of his life. He wanted to go to the Islands (saved for years), but mom would not fly. and so it went.
enjoy it. And share the experience with them as best you can (photos, video and writing). Be working toward that. Like Frank said — they put for the effort so you could have it a bit better. The fact that you are thinking about it is a good sign — you recognize from whence you came. Respect the opportunity and do your best.
yeah, same thing here. My parents, after so many years, are finally getting to enjoy their lives and travel a bit. We were also super tight in the money department. I believe that every parent wants more for their children than they had for themselves. I’m sure yours feel the same way + are proud
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Hope to run into you again some day Aric.
really kind of y’all to write. thank you.
okay, so maybe i’m alittle behind on my “aric time” but after reading this i must say, frank, those were such dear, kind words to your friend. and, yes, he’s right aric.