A new granddaughter, a new experience in fear

Everyday People

Tom Loewy

NEWS

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

The newlyweds made

the trip from Galesburg in a car.

And that was how they traveled to each and every vacation during their 35 years of marriage.

"We've gone to a lot of places," Judy said over the phone Tuesday night.

"We drive to St. Louis and the Wisconsin Dells and every place we have ever gone."

Judy laughed.

"Our vacations are the old-fashioned car trips."

Judy never imagined the skies as a friendly place.

"I have many fears, to tell you the truth," Judy said. "And flying is my biggest."

She paused.

"I imagine the plane catching fire and crashing. And we all know what happens when a plane crashes. That's it."

Judy sighed.

"I am 56 years old and I had never been on a plane."

A newborn, a Christmas gift and some time off from the Gale Credit Union changed Judy's flight status.

Judy's son, Dustin, and daughter-in-law, Michelle, had a baby Nov. 14. They named the little girl Brooklynn and invited Judy, Alan and Judy's mother-in-law down to Lake Jackson, Texas, to meet the newest addition to the family.

Then she got the plane ticket as an early Christmas gift and was given the week before Christmas off by the Gale Credit Union board members.

"We have two work teams at the credit union," Judy explained. "One team gets the week before Christmas off and the other team gets the week before New Year's off. If the credit union didn't give us the extra time, I wouldn't have been able to go."

There was just one catch.

"I knew that if we were going to have any time down there, we would have to fly," Judy said. "There were other times that we had gone to Texas and I thought I could fly there.

"I always bailed out."

The itinerary had the Rhoadeses departing the Quad City International Airport at 6 a.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21, and flying to Atlanta. From Atlanta, they flew to Hobby Airport in Houston.

"I started getting nervous the weekend before the flight," Judy said. "I don't show it. I'm calm on the outside, but I'm really tense on the inside."

Judy stayed quiet on the flight from Moline.

"My husband and my mother-in-law kept asking me if I was OK. I didn't really have an answer. I was pretty sure we were going to crash. I was hoping we wouldn't."

One thought kept her in her seat.

"I just kept thinking about that little baby granddaughter. I just kept thinking that I was going to get to see her and hold her."

The Rhoades family made it to Atlanta in one piece.

"We had breakfast, then we got back on the plane and went to Hobby. I didn't have any problem eating - I don't have that kind of trouble, but I wish I did."

Judy said she remained quiet the rest of the way.

"I don't know how to describe it. I think I'm a little bit of a zombie when I'm on a plane. I was just sitting there waiting for it to happen."

The plane stayed in the air and landed without incident.

Judy said the trip was worth the fear.

"I saw Brooklynn and she is just perfect. Of course I had pictures of her, but seeing her and holding her made it all so real.

"The thing I first noticed was her cheeks. I don't know how to describe them. I guess I would say they are chubby - like her older brother's. And her eyes are like her dad's - real pretty and dark blue."

Judy spent five days with Brooklynn and flew home.

The experience didn't change much.

"I'm still afraid to fly. Truthfully, I don't think you can ever get over a fear like that. I know it will always be there."

So the Rhoadeses are headed back to the car.

"Driving is fun," Judy said. "I do like the scenery."

Tom Loewy is a reporter for The Register-Mail. Contact him with column ideas at tloewy@register-mail.com or 343-7181, Ext. 256.