Travels with Momma

I had just finished my Sophomore year at Brooke Hill when I went to Europe with momma. This is when my fear of needles began.  We were getting out vacinations for the trip and of course I saw myself as fat and I had not eaten lunch or breakfast and I stuck my arm out for the shot and fainted flat onto the floor blacking my eye and terrorizing the nurse. The property where UAB was being built was on the land where  my great grandfather's home was.  The city condemned the property it sold  for $3000, with that check she bought two airline tickets  Birmingham to Frankfort, Germany for herself and me and we were off.  We landed and rented a car.  We didn't speak a word of German but smiles got us a lot.  Momma on the autobahn well 120 kg read our odometer and we were being passed like we were standing still.  I remember translating the exit sign as Aus fart. Momma would scream with laughter.  We stayed in the most lovely little inn with the most wonderful down duvets.  We slept away the time change.  We drove to Bonn.  Momma was so excited about the open market.  She bought a kilo of Bing Cherries that were put in a paper sack. We were hungry so we went to a very elegant restaurant,  we opened the door and the entire bag of Bing Cherries sprang open at the bottom and shot all over the tile floor.  The entire wait staff scurried around picking up the wayward cherries. We sat down and Momma struggled over the menu trying to understand what she was getting.  I pointed to an item.  The next minute the waiter took away my knife and fork and brought me a tiny fork.  I had ordered snails. Being adventurous and hungry I ate them and they were yummy.

The trip took us many places.My younger

brother and sister were living in France at the time so we picked them up and headed for Pamplona to watch the running of the bulls. Momma loved Ernest Hemmingway.  Somehow I had gotten away from the group and ended up with a guy about two years older than me.  He held me close and gave me a kiss.  I barely remember the bulls rumbling down the street after that.  Now when I was Florida State Music Camp I had my very first kiss.  Randy Weiss was Jewish and had a proper Jewish nose and we both had braces. He gently turned my chin towards him and I thought oh my God we are going to get our braces entangled and his nose plunged into my cheek and I couldn't help it but I started giggling and then a real laugh started well that ended that. He avoided me from then on. We kept on through Spain and we were eating a meal and a man heard we were from Alabama. He asked why the people from Alabama hated Black people.  I looked at him and said we don't hate blacks we hate Yankees.  This was taught to me by my Great Aunt Nell. We did run out of money a couple of times and had to wait for checks Daddy was to send on a cable that always took more time that she expected.  One time we found a little hotel in London. The lady quoted 9 pounds a night but when were carrying the luggage up the third flight of steps the owner says it will be 12 pounds.  When momma objected she raised her hands and said, Me makka a mistake.  That became a cliche in our home and many times we would say that and it would trigger that memory of Momma turning us around to the door and leaving in search of a place we could afford.  I guess these memoies were triggered by the recent running of the bulls.  I still have my scarf from that night when I discovered the joy of kisses.The jug is wearing it. in the photo.