AIRMAIL
REMEMBERING
YESTERYEAR
AmericanWay
got a tremendous
response toSamuelG. Freedman’s
February story “TimeTraveling,” inwhich
hedetailed a cross-country tripwithhis
familywhenhewas a child.
Reliving thePast
I greatly enjoyed readingMr. Freedman’s colorful
recounting of his family trip 50 years ago, when
hewas 12 years old. It rekindledmy own joyful
memories of backpacking across theworld after
college 25 years ago. After graduation, I put on a
backpack and spent several months travelingEu-
rope, then sevenmonths inAustralia and almost
three inNewZealand, finishing in reverse ofMr.
Freedman’s trip, with a six-month stay inHawaii
before coming back through San Francisco after
about a two-year sojourn around the globe. Any-
onewho has traveled like this will always carry the
awesomememories and joys of travel with them
forever. Thank you, AdamPitluk, for publishing
this story, and thank you, Samuel, for writing this
wonderful piece that helpedme relivemy own
experiences.
R.J. Lewis
Newtown,Pennsylvania
WriterSamuelG. FreedmanResponds:
Thanks
somuch for your letter, R.J. It’s so reassuring to know
thatmy own experience as a young traveler struck a
chordwith you. And, by theway, I did a backpack trip
similar to yours soon after graduating college in 1977:
westernCanada,Mount Rainier, theBayArea and
then a later leg throughCajunCountry,Mississippi
andTennessee.My father, then 56, joinedme on that
part of the trip.
TrekkingThroughTime
Our family took virtually the same trip toCali-
fornia as author SamuelG. Freedman. It was only
years later that I knewwhy.My grandfather passed
away inNovember 1968, andmy father, a true
Christmas devotee, did not want tobe at home for
the holidays. This was the first airplane trip for us
kids, andwhat awonderful trip it was. It included
not only the hippie scene inSanFranciscobut also
horse racing, giant redwoods andorderingChrist-
mas dinner at a hotel. For his own reasons,Dad
drove the inland route fromLosAngeles toNorth-
ernCalifornia,missing all that great scenery but,
I imagine, feeling safer on the flat terrain. Thanks
for the sweetmemory for our littleMidwestern
family of five:mom, dad and three teenagers.
Carol A.Heisler
CrystalLake, Illinois
S.F.Responds:
Your letter remindsme of the
healingpower of travel, Carol.One ofmy father’s
most touchinggifts tomymother when shewas
dyingof cancer was tomake a family trip toGreece
that she had always yearned for.
FamilyTies
I enjoyed reading Samuel G. Freedman’s article
“TimeTraveling.” It was awonderful reminder
of how the power of travel not only expands our
ability to learn about new places and cultures but
also helps us create everlastingmemories with
loved ones. Freedman’s article reminds us how
family vacations can become treasured gems
long after the trip is over. I thought ofmy own
family trips as he told the funny story about how
his brother got the name “Lumpman,” a secret
adventure surfingwith his dad and a timewhen
hismother was joyful before she got sick. These
experiences shapewhowe become in the future
andmakewonderful stories to pass down to
our children. Sometimes we even get towrite
about them in travel magazines. Thanks toMr.
Freedman for sharing his very personal storywith
AmericanWay
readers.
PhyllisPerry
Philadelphia
S.F.Responds:
As a parentmyself, I’ve hoped to
givemy two children some of those indeliblemem-
ories fromour trips together also, Phyllis. They’re
in their 20s now, andwe are already enjoying the
nostalgicmemories.
HappyTimes
I’d spent a harrowing couple of weeks inTexas
movingmymother after a fall that resulted in a
traumatic brain injury. Although her bodywas
familiar, thewoman inhabiting it had virtually
disappeared, and I prepared to return home to
my ordered andpeaceful life full of sadness with
the loss of this funny, happy anddevotedparent.
Samuel G. Freedman’s “TimeTraveling” trans-
portedme back to a simpler, happier time in 1957,
as our family traveled fromTexas toCalifornia
andpoints inbetween. Sharing your experiences
helpedmy stress and sadnessmelt away, at least
for a few hours, recalling happier times withmy
mother. I won’t forget!
NancyRuff
Clinton,Washington
S.F.Responds:
Nancy, your letter reminds this
writer why hewrites. Thanks somuch!
GreersFerryLake
COME
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US.
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