A Trip to California (Part Four)

There was a different world outside of that ride. Once we stopped for breaks and explored where we were, I realized just how different things could be. Soda and candy that I knew back home were still available, but the packaging was different (much smaller, bigger, or with features I never considered before – ex. Pull-off tabs for soda cans). I was given a book to read and noticed immediately the difference in price (about a dollar lower than back home). We once stopped at a convenience store, bought some groceries, and saw a father enter and begin to scream and gesture at his son. The boy had run away from home and the father wanted him to come back immediately. No one in the store moved, except my mother, who took me by the hand and led me outside. But I will never forget that moment or the man. He had a rough beard that was very close to his face, a trucker’s hat, shorts and a dirty t-shirt. The anger we felt pulsing from him was palpable, as if it had its own energy and purpose. The only adults I had seen angry with children in public were teachers and the parents of my cousins and relatives, and their anger did not even approach what I saw in that store.