Going the distance

 Last Monday, I put my 20-year-old son on a plane to Melbourne, Australia. All in, he was in the air for over 20 hours.

I fly regularly and anything over three hours makes me insane. Sitting in such a cramped space for an extended time makes my body ache and exhausts my mind. I can usually sleep for a bit, but the awkward seating means it’s not a good sleep. 

Before my son left, I made him promise that he would keep my wife and me abreast of his travels. We didn’t demand long dissertations; we just wanted a running update on what he was doing so we could share in his experiences.

Well, things got off to a rocky start with that plan.

He did call us when he landed in Los Angeles for his layover, but that was only because he didn’t know what gate to go to. I tried not to be condescending when I told him to pick his head up and locate one of the 1,000 gigantic digital billboards that said “Departures.”

I was tracking his flight so I knew when he landed in Melbourne. I sent him a quick text asking how the flight was, but never got a response. After a couple hours and a few more texts, I finally wrote “Proof of life, please!!!”

Shortly after, we received our first text. He apparently didn’t have the time to text us actual words but instead sent us a photo of a Lamborghini that was in the airport parking deck. Not exactly what we wanted or were expecting, but it did prove that he was alive. 

We didn’t get much out of him for the first couple days. For example, to our query, “Hey, what’s Melbourne like? Are the people nice?” He replied, “Yup.” I was going to write back, “Elaborate much?” but my wife told me to leave him alone and not fuss about his inability to communicate like an adult.

One of the nice things (or so I thought) is that every time he uses his credit card, we get an email alerting us to the transaction. He earned the money for this trip so I don’t really care how he spends it, but we wanted to be aware if something went awry with his account. 

I happened to glance at one of these emails on his third day and it read, “Your card ending in x1900 was used to make an international purchase of $67.59 at Blue Lady Tattoo.” My heart skipped a beat. I walked into the living room where my wife was sitting and showed her. Her reaction was the same.

I quickly took a screenshot of the email and texted it to him with the words, “Please tell me this isn’t what I think it is.” 

Again, radio silence for 24 hours. At that point, my wife and I were resolved to the idea that he got inked. I didn’t think it was the end of the world, but I wasn’t entirely happy either.

When the text alert finally chimed several hours later, my wife and I hesitantly opened the thread fully expecting a picture of a fresh tattoo of a Pokémon or anime character. Instead, we were met with the words, “Relax, I bought a hoodie.”

There is a God!

So, we are now officially one week into our son’s grand journey through Australia (with future expeditions to Thailand and Japan in the following months). 

When I awoke this morning, I grabbed a cup of coffee and flopped onto the couch. I went through my usual routine of checking work email and looking at the daily weather forecast. And then I remembered that my son wasn’t upstairs sleeping, which prompted me to check for a text from him. My stomach jumped when I saw the thread was lit up with a little red icon signaling that he’d sent a message.

When I opened the text, I was met with these words: “I could not have asked for anything better. Thank you guys so much for giving me the amazing life I have.” 

My eyes welled up as I walked into the bedroom where I found my wife staring at her phone reading the same text. We both agreed at that moment that letting go of your kid is one of the hardest things a parent has to do.

In this week’s feature, “Never Let Go” starring Halle Berry, we meet another parent who is having trouble letting go of her children, except in her case, it’s because they live in a remote cabin where an unspeakable evil lurks in the nearby forest. 

It’s the time of year when horror films take center stage and while this one is far from a classic, it was creepy and weird enough to make it interesting to watch. The film rests on Halle Berry, who gives a convincing portrayal of an unstable mother who may or may not be full of good intentions.

Check this one out if you’re in the mood for a solid psychological thriller, just don’t expect to understand what’s going on for most of the film.

An unexpecting “C+” for “Never Let Go,” now playing in theaters everywhere.

Got a question or comment for Dom? You can email him at moviediary@att.net.