ALL THE HASSLE

Dear Spike:

I'll admit I wasn't too fond of the idea when your grandfather called me, a few months back, with a plan to surprise your grandmother.

"I'd like to fly the three of you out for her birthday," he said. "It would be the best present in the world for her."

There are few things I wouldn't do for my mother, but I still was dreading the trip. I could already see the other passengers' spiteful gazes and hear their impatient sighs. Heck, for all the love we could expect to get from our fellow travelers, I feared, we might as well walk onto the plane wearing shirts that read: "About to meet my virgins."

But things went remarkably well on your first airplane trip. We got through security with no major hassles. One of the flight attendants encouraged us to take an extra seat for your safety chair, since the plane wasn't full. I didn't notice a single angry glance from our fellow passengers as we boarded (rather, quite a few of them looked up at you and cooed.) And you were remarkably well behaved during the hour-long wait for the plane to arrive and the hour and a half flight from Salt Lake City to Oakland.

We arrived, safe and sound, at your grandparents' home this evening — and nearly gave your grandmother a heart attack when we walked in the door.

It really turned out to be no great hassle at all, but the look on her face when she saw you would have been worth all the hassle in the world.

Love,
dad