Zoom Zoom Zoom

We had yet another showing this afternoon, so we made our way down to the local large shopping and entertainment center. Within a couple hundred yards of each other was a shop with several flight simulators and a NASCAR racing center.

For Christmas Tony and I gave Angelo a gift card for a 30-minute ride in a flight simulator. You have to understand that Angelo is a Navy vet; serving two tours aboard the USS Forestall. His job while aboard ship was repairing aviation components. During his advanced training he actually did some flight school and was seat-checked in whatever plane they were flying off the ship at the time. I knew this simulated flight would be fun for him.

For a long time, Tony has wanted to race a car. A couple months ago he was delighted to learn that he finally reached the height requirement. He begged and pleaded at that time to go driving. I dutifully said no. Now, here we are again. Angelo is at the flight center getting briefed on how to fly the "planes" so the kids and I were fending for ourselves. Tony had one destination in mind; the NASCAR center. Did I mention it was his birthday recently? Did I tell you that he got some money for his birthday, and that the tooth fairy left him some more money Friday night? That money was just burning a hole in his pocket, and he knew where he wanted to spend it.

I gave my consent, and Tony happily laid the bills on the counter and grasped the admission ticket in his hand. Then he, too went into another room for a briefing before being shown his car. The last two things I heard from him before the briefing room door closed was "I'm going to drive, Mom. Uh, I'm a little bit nervous."

I managed to talk to race manager (the guy who makes sure everyone is OK during the race) and asked him how Tony was doing. "He's doing fine," the guy told me. "His eyes are as big as saucers."

Yes, he crashed. Yes, he ended up eight laps behind the leader at the end of the race. Yes he was in last place, but who cares! The smile the emerged from the car at the end of the 7-minute race hid the boy who was wearing it.

I was proud of Tony. I told him as we walked out of the center, "Well son, you just took a few more steps away from 7-year-oldhood." Tony made a quick call to Papa (my dad - I had forewarned him that Tony would be calling. "He will probably tell us just as fast as he was racing," my dad told me with a chuckle), to share his excitement before we headed back to Angelo.

Angelo. His flight. Because his flight was for thirty minutes, we had about a ten minute wait before he was done. I had my cell phone camera ready to snap the first pictures of the look on his face when he emerged. Yep, there was a big smile there. And he even gave me more than his typical, stoic, "It was OK." He told me he enjoyed it and had a lot of fun. I'm glad.

But what about DeeDee and me? My guys were having all the fun. So we stopped at a nearby theme park where Tony and I snagged a roller coaster ride, and where we gave DeeDee a carousal ride. Then it was a quick bite to eat and back home again.

So everyone is in bed. I have a bit of grading to do; and hopefully and can a few more assignments put together for Tony's third grade year.