It's alright to be afraid to travel
There was no time to think of terrorists or maniacs
By Brent E. McCoy thereal@roadrunner.com

The other day I sent my daughter off on a trip to France and England. It is an educational trip, and there are a dozen or so other Moorpark High School students traveling with her. I admit that I'm a little worried, times being what they are.

Our last meeting of the students and parents was just a couple of weeks after the incident in Scotland, and there was some discussion about whether it was really safe to let the kids go ahead on the trip. It was something to think about to be sure.

Someone turned to me and asked if I thought that the kids would be safe. I assured her that if they lived through the drive across Los Angeles and then to the LAX terminal, they would be all right, the thought being that they were far more likely to encounter our own brand of terrorism on the way to our airport than they were likely to encounter it overseas.

My wisdom was to turn prophetic.

One of the best parts of this trip for my wife and I was that we didn't even have to go to the airport because the group had arranged for a bus to come and pick everyone up here in Moorpark and take them right to the terminal. The bus was scheduled to leave here at 3 a.m. All we had to do was get my daughter to the pickup area less than a mile from our house. Then our daughter decided to spend the night with a friend and her mom, who were also going on the trip.

I went to bed knowing that just after I got up in the morning there would be a call letting me know that they were all at the airport waiting to board. Life was good.

Life was good right up to about 3:15 the next morning when the phone rang. My daughter was on the other end and said, "Daddy, the bus isn't coming."

I was still a little groggy and replied, "What do you mean the bus isn't coming? Are they bringing the plane to Moorpark?" It turns out that the plane was staying at the airport and the bus wasn't going to get here in time to get them to the airport. I didn't realize that the bus getting here on time was optional.

We needed to improvise and I, along with a few other terrific parents, rendezvoused at the pickup spot, loaded the luggage and travelers into three vehicles and set off toward the airport.

Time was of the essence, but we had the kids with us so safety was paramount. There was no time to think of terrorists or maniacs.

That was until the pickup truck in front of us in the number one lane (the fast one) on the 118 Freeway decided that, with just over a hundred feet to go before his offramp, it was time to get across all four lanes. We avoided a crash, and now everyone was wide awake.

That was pretty exciting. It was not as exciting as the events a few miles up the road when we were forced to make a sudden lane change. It seems that someone up ahead wasn't sure if they wanted to take the 405 Freeway toward Bakersfield or toward Santa Monica and slowed to about 10 mph in order to have time to think it over.

A few years ago, I wrote about our "Great Cement Truck Races" on the 23 Freeway. Apparently, Los Angeles (since it is so much bigger) holds its own version called "The Great 18-Wheeler Races" early in the morning. In a twist on our tradition, it seems that extra points are awarded for forcing traffic on the left into the barrier.

The fellow next to me must have racked up quite a few points since he proved to be very good at this. Fortunately, I remembered my research from my earlier article, and so I was able to quickly flash the proper salute.

In the end, we got the kids to the airport, and since it was still early we made good time getting back to Moorpark. There was a great deal of fog at Rocky Peak Road, but since this is California we didn't even have to slow down for that.

I guess you could say that it is dangerous to travel. Just remember, once you get to the airport, you're probably going to be all right.