The first time I got on a plane a travel bug ignited in me. I was only about nine or ten at the time, but the magic of getting on a plane and being in a totally different country a few hours later was enthralling. I don’t remember much about the flight itself or the process through the airport but the excitement and new adventures in New York city were unforgettable. Back then, New York was ROUGH to say the least but in the eyes of a ten-year-old it was new, eventful and a lot to take in.
I remember pulling back the curtain to see what was happening outside one day and my aunt immediately shouting at me to ‘Move away from the window!’ As a child from the Caribbean, looking out the window was a regular and safe thing to do but in the Big Apple I was quickly learning that it was dangerous and unheard of.
The memory that is forever etched in my mind though is on a street walking one day when two cars frantically pulled up a few feet away from us and all the car doors opened in unison. I don’t recall how many men there were, but they were armed with guns as they flew out the cars and entered a building in haste. After that all I remember is my aunt saying ‘Run!’ and we had to run to hop on a bus that was nearby. It didn’t matter if it was going in our direction, it was our escape out of the danger zone. Of course, I didn’t feel the fear that I would feel today if I witnessed something similar. To me it was another new and exciting day in the Big Apple.
