Welcome!

Christmas 2007

June 8-11, 2001

Well...the day finally came for Sue to get Kirk's mom, Nancy, on an airplane for the first time in her life!!

Mom has dear friends in Las Vegas that she had never met before. She "met" them on the internet last July after corresponding regarding the death (from Lou Gehrig's Disease) of a friend in Milwaukee . Mom got to be great Pen Pals with Audrey, and then they started talking on the telephone weekly! That got her to "know" both Jim & Audrey very well, and they have become very special friends.

So, we packed up mom for a long weekend in the hot sun & casinos!

Flying Midwest Express is a fabulous airline, and it could not have been better for her first flight...or so we thought...

Leaving at 9:35pm gave me plenty of time to prep mom for all the noises and bumps that she would encounter in flying. But even I was not prepared for what was to come...After being in flight for an hour, the captain got on the PA system and announced we needed to go back to Milwaukee due to an unidentified odor on the plane. Oh No....I tried so hard to remain calm for mom. As you can see above, mom was sitting by the window, and as we flew back into Milwaukee, all she could see were the many flashing lights from fire trucks, ambulances, etc., all waiting for us! Once we landed, the paramedics came on board and took off anyone that was experiencing a sore throat (as some were complaining in flight) or any other symptoms. Well, mom said she was feeling a little dizzy, so I told her to go off to get checked out and I would call Kirk on the cell phone from the plane. (We were allowed once we landed) I called Kirk and totally woke him up at 11:10pm! I think my exact words were "Honey, it's. me. You have to WAKE UP and listen!".  After I got off the phone, I realized...Oh My God...my mother-in-law is out there all by herself with the paramedics! What was I doing inside the plane?? So, I plowed my way past people and found her in the terminal with about 15 others. There she was wearing oxygen, surrounded by paramedics! Her blood pressure skyrocketed from all the excitement and then some. Making a somewhat long-story short, they ended up taking her to the hospital to be sure everything was going to be OK. (and it WAS) That was about midnight. Meanwhile, the Channel 4 News had been filming in the terminal and asking people questions. They honed in on mom a few times!   When we got mom to the tarmac to go in the ambulance, I suddenly felt this weird feeling like I was in a movie or something. This was not really happening?   All I could see were trucks with flashing lights, and then these people getting in the silver fire-protective garb heading towards the plane! What was I doing down here?? It was horrid. I called Kirk and said "Honey, I have never needed you more than I need you now! Please meet us at the hospital!" While mom was in the hospital, I looked right at her and said "If you do not want to get on that plane tomorrow, I will TOTALLY understand"! She looked at me and calmly said,  "If I don't do it now, I never will". Bless her heart...we flew out the next day and were greeted by the best friends she has ever had...

Jim & Audrey Klatkiewicz!

Jim & Audrey were gracious hosts to let us stay with them in their beautiful home in Henderson, NV.

They live about 18 miles from the Strip. This picture below is taken from their back yard looking out onto the mountains, with the Las Vegas Strip in the foreground. It was beautiful to see all the lights at night!

Since we arrived late in the afternoon the first day, we mostly just relaxed and talked. Then the next day we began our adventures to the Hoover Dam:

That night, we did do some touring onto the Strip. Not a lot of gambling, but a lot of oohing & aahing at the hotels and the lights (I took 800 speed film to capture the lights at night. They turned out pretty cool!)

The next day, we spent some more time on the Strip. I tried really hard to win that sports car for Kirk, but I guess my quarters were not lucky enough! Of course the last casino we went to (off the Strip) called the Sunset Station, both mom & I got lucky! I won $50 and she won $60.  Not much, but enough to come home and say we did not lose our shirts!

A great time was had by all. And believe it or not, good friends got even closer!

And there is some good news from our scary beginning, we now have FREE flights on Midwest Express, so Mom can go back!

Thanks for visiting and sharing in this great vacation! Check out more fun times if you would like...