STOPS, SPOTS AND PETS Our Toyota Sieanne van was crammed with all sorts of things for the journey from Florence, South Carolina, to Windsor, Ontario, Canada, a journey covering nearly 900 miles (1,500 km). Our Toyota Passport and Camry doubtless felt neglected, like ex-wives, as there was more room in the Sieanne. At one moment I had to remind my sons, Milan and Viren, with a comment, "The church is small and the pilgrims or devotees are many," as in addition to all the stuff we’d crammed into the long-suffering Sieanne, there were, five people to be seated in the van. After a fortnight, my sons were to move from Florence as well, as they could not run a business that they took over on lease. In a way, it was a farewell to the city as we were not to return there. I was feeling a trifle depressed, and silently grieved for a moment. The human mind is a wonderful toy and we frequently abuse it. Anything and everything is stored in it. As a schoolboy I read a story from an Indian mythology book Panch Tantra which contains a series of animation stories, each with a moral. The great romantic poet, Wordsworth, said it this way, "Thoughts recollected in tranquillity". I found myself relaxed and instructed. The story is about a lion family. The lioness found a puppy uncared-for in the forest. She brought the puppy into her den to be brought up with her cubs. As the cubs started growing, they went out hunting for baby elephants. The puppy automatically joined them in the hunt, thinking it was a lion. One day, the puppy returned home crying, unable to hunt. Quick came the reply from the lioness, "Elephants are not hunted in the family you were born in." Likewise, I thought, being a teacher all my life, how can business acumen have roots in my sons. I knew it was a lame excuse, but it soothed me nevertheless. But to return to my story. We were to cross five states to reach Windsor. Our journey began on a happy note as we were to be united with my third son and my daughter, who had immigrated to Canada a short while before. Our first stop was at the rest area in Virginia State where we enjoyed a leisurely lunch. We discovered a good spot with wooden benches. As we entered the area, noticed a sign which alerted us to the fact that pets were not allowed in the picnic area. I drew this to the attention of my six-year-old grandson, who is always my pet and asked him not to enter the area. A short distance away from that area there was another sign which pointed to a pets’ toilet area. I said, "Come on, I shall take you there." "I have already been, Grandpa," came the quick reply. All of us laughed so heartily that the pain we felt leaving Florence almost left us. Crossing Virginia and West Virginia reminded me of my travel to the Himalayan Mountains. Wherever we looked there was luscious greenery with clouds brushing the peaks of the hills, giving us the most romantic feelings. Our second stop was in West Virginia and another rest area. Getting down from the Sieanne, I noticed a good spot to relax for a while. "Let us go to that spot," I said. "Grandpa, come near me" begged Premil. "What is it?" I asked. "You have a beauty spot here," he replied, pointing to the mole I have under my lower lip. "You are a lucky man." "How could you say that?" I asked, perplexed. "My teacher said that," he replied. "You naughty…" I raised left hand to cuff him but he quickly caught my hand and said, "Look here, you have another one in the middle of your palm. You are luckier than ever!" I felt as light as a dried leaf. We were now crossing Ohio State and we got down at Travel Plaza for some refreshments. To our delight, we met there some visitors from India. One of them had put on the traditional dress of loincloth as our father of the nation, Gandhi, used to wear. It reminds me of Premil's visit to London a month back. Premil and his mother had gone to attend a wedding ceremony in London. Before they left, I gave them a parental advice to visit Madame Tussuad's famous waxworks museum in London. This they did. Prominently displayed was wax statue of Gandhi. Premil’s mother asked him to have a picture taken standing near Gandhi. Regarding the statue, and the loincloth Gandhi used to wear, Premil remarked, "He is a funny guy." As Premil was born in the USA, I wondered how much he would know of Gandhi, about whom the great scientist, Einstein, said, "The future generation would hardly believe there was a man called Gandhi walking on the earth in flesh and blood." We crossed the Ohio State and, leaving Toledo, we were on our way to Detroit. We caught sight of a sign beside the road which announced, "Luna Pier." Premil pointed it out to me and laughed. The name of my daughter who lives in Canada, is Luna. We had another hearty laugh and a desire to see Luna in person. We reached Detroit and were hungry. We looked for an Indian Restaurant and we found it off the Ford Road. As we parked our van, there was another sign of a shop Mirage Traders. Mirage is the name of my son who also lives in Canada. Every trace of our unhappy feeling was completely wiped out with a hearty Indian dinner. Half an hour more and we were in Windsor, Canada. We arrived at the immigration check post. It was to be our last stop, but what a stop! The officer at the check post was in a good mood. He simply asked us where we came from. On hearing the answer, he told us, "Go ahead". He did not even bother to check whether I had my visa for Canada as I was visitor from India. We crossed to Canada and laughed and laughed till we reached our destination. The next day, it was all "Go ahead". I wanted to use the wash room in the morning. I asked my grandson to let me go first. With a grin, he replied, "Go ahead". I asked my daughter-in-law for a cup of tea. She smiled and replied, "Go ahead..." - Ramanick Mehta Windsor, Ontario, Canada.