Stories in my family become better over time. This story will become better over time as well.
There are five (5) Family Members on this Vacation of a Lifetime. Two are daughters of Lowe Sisters, Sara Lowe Kinzer and Marie Lowe Hickerson. Those daughters are first cousins Sara Kinzer Hayes, with husband, David, and Vicky Hickerson Scherberger. Also on this vacation is Becky Smith Truett with her husband, Winston. Becky is the granddaughter to Sara Lowe Kinzer, niece to Sara Hayes, and second cousin to Vicky Scherberger. Got it?
We learned today that a rider has one (1) minute to depart the train from Paris when it stops at Bayeux, France. David, Winston, Becky, and I heard this (maybe not fully comprehending it) as we saw Sara standing solo on at the Bayeux Train Platform. I thought what is Sara going to do with all that luggage swimming around her like sharks circling their prey in the ocean?
A Train Crew Member told us about the one-minute departure rule as we continued riding way pass our intended designation, and Sara becoming smaller and smaller in our rearview. As a side note, the Train Crew Member had on a crisp blue uniform like Flight Attendants once wore. She had the cutest round pillbox size hat. I know I was not paying full attention because I wanted that hat!
Sara did not hear this revelation. The last thing she heard was David and me saying to each other several times, ” You go first.” Then, the doors closed securely shut. Sara stood on the platform with tons of luggage, bags, and sweaters. We stood in shock.
As I slowly realized what had happened, I was really happy that we took six (6) large bags to the Paris Crown Plaza Hotel Thursday morning (0630hrs) to leave behind during our Normandy Trip and to retrieve on our trip home. I’m pretty sure Sara would have started to toss a few bags had everything plus those six (6) made it to the platform.
Despite David’s attempts to open the doors, the train kept moving and gaining speed. Sara had made it off the train with everything except David’s backpack and camera bag, my duffle and tote, Becky’s purse, and electric scooter. She had Becky’s and Winston’s passports but not hers. She had some money. … and she had the luggage.
David remained remarkably cool leaving his wife of 50-plus years in a town that she had never been in, where people did not speak her native tongue, and without knowing our course of action to return. He said with GREAT confidence that Sara could handle this. In my years as Lowe Family Member, Sara and David have handled everything that came their way with competence, love, and grace.
Becky’s eyes appeared somewhat larger than usual as she surveyed the situation probably relieved that she was not the one left solo on the train platform. It’s a little hard to see her eyes. She wears large dark sunglasses as she rides her scooter. People may think that she is blind in those Ray-Charles-severely-dark shades. People clear a path as she plows through a crowd making it easier for us to move through. As always, Winston was lovingly by Becky’s side and had probably realized they are “passport-less” because his backpack was left on the train platform. They both concluded that putting us in the middle of the train’s second deck made departing difficult at best; impossible in one (1) minute.
Some 30ish age guy, maybe angry and tipsy, hit or pulled a device near the train doors. Eventually, a Train Crew Member appeared. She told us about the one-minute departure rule. If you think we were surprised at this situation, you should have seen her face when she viewed these four (4) senior, orphaned Americans on her train!
David told her, “We didn’t know” about the rule.
We all got off at the next stop assured that Train Personnel would not only give us time but also help us. They graciously did. Becky moved faster than ever getting on and off her scooter to solid ground.
Before getting to our hotel, we survived a short thunder storm, and locked restrooms. Winston wondered off to some isolated area for his restroom break. I was green-envy jealous.
It took two Uber rides before we joined Sara at our hotel. She somehow managed to have all our vacation possessions … except the six large bags stored at the Paris Crown Plaza.
I said to the Train Crew Member that assisted us in Bayeux, “We aren’t from here and we don’t have these trains in West Tennessee and North Alabama.” He smiled nodding in agreement.
We do have nice people in West Tennessee and North Alabama … just like people that we’ve found on this vacation. That’s how life should be … treating each other as we want to be