The Castaway Hotel: Book 4

The next week, I went out with Jake a couple more times, once to the driving range and then another time to the putting green. Jake was continually giving me reminders about some fundamentals I either didn’t know or had forgotten since I’d stopped playing, so I found him to be a big help. I was growing more confident in my skills and was slowly approaching my old form.

The boys seemed excited every time we went on one of these outings, although I wasn’t quite sure why. They always asked me a ton of questions when I got home and were sometimes very persistent to find out what I’d done and if I’d enjoyed myself. I guess I was more than a little naïve about their intent, but I still thought their interest had more to do with Shannon than with Jake or me, except that by getting Jake and I to spend time together, it usually meant Shannon would stay at our place until we got back. Surrounded by my shell of denial about what my sons’ intentions were, I remained oblivious to their diabolical scheme and was gradually falling into their trap.

The boys were also excited the McCarthys would be joining us on our outing this coming weekend, but once more I believed it was because they enjoyed having Shannon along and never considered it had anything to do with either Jake or myself. Personally, I not only enjoyed Jake and Shannon’s company, but having Jake volunteer as a second driver really got me out of a jam. It was obvious we weren’t all going to fit into one vehicle and I didn’t believe any of my drivers were ready to tackle big city traffic, especially New York City traffic. Since my sons could be impatient at times, I didn’t think any of them could handle the frustrations and unexpected behaviors drivers are often confronted with when navigating in large urban areas. Getting from place to place is quite different there, from what the boys are used to dealing with where we live, so it was not only nice, but reassuring to have another experienced driver handling the Suburban.

Not only that, but during my investigations I learned the driving age in NYC is eighteen, which meant Mark would be the only other one eligible to drive there, and I wasn’t that sure of his driving skills. Sure, he had his license and I let him use the car while he was with us, but that is in a rural setting with limited traffic. I wasn’t positive he had experience driving in congested areas or dealing with aggressive drivers, so having Jake along was a Godsend.

Over the first few days of the following week, I would occasionally wonder how the Beckers were enjoying their trip, but my curiosity was sated when Wednesday’s mail was delivered. After walking down to our mailbox, I happily discovered we had received a letter from Little Ricky. He had jotted down a brief description of the things they had done up to that point and sounded very excited about everything, including their flight. Not only that, but he also thanked me for the special treats I had waiting for them when they got there. Being someone who loved to plan surprises, I had made arrangements with the hotel to have certain items placed in their suite, so Little Ricky and his parents would discover them immediately upon entering their room. From what Little Ricky told me in his letter, it appeared the hotel must have also included a bonus of its own.

Here is what I’d done. First, I had informed the Beckers they would take the hotel’s shuttle bus from the airport to their lodgings. I felt that after being cramped up for the flight to Orlando, not to mention the time it took to drive us to the airport, I didn’t think Mr. Becker would be up to trying to find his way from the airport to their lodgings, since he had no familiarity with the location. Therefore, I advised them they would take the hotel shuttle from the airport to where they would be spending the next few days. However, I didn’t apprise them I had also arranged a rental car for them to use during their stay, in case they wanted to get out and see some of the surrounding areas as well. The car rental was handled for me by the hotel manager, using the credit card information I had supplied him for both the room and the ride, and he’d left the paperwork and keys for the vehicle, as well as directions telling them where the car was parked.

In addition to that little bonus, I’d also had the manager purchase a gift card for them to use in the hotel’s souvenir shop, which he assured me was stocked with all sorts of Disney World paraphernalia, including a very special set of mouse ears I wanted to get for Little Ricky. I thought the Beckers would also enjoy something to remind them of this trip – their first vacation with their new son.

To my surprise, however, I learned they had also been given coupons for their first and last night’s dinner in the resorts first-class restaurant. They thought that had also come from me as well, but I would let them know as soon as I could that it must have been something the hotel manager added on his own. I thought it was a nice touch and wanted the Beckers to know this before they left, so they could thank him in person.

Just from reading Little Ricky’s descriptions of what they had seen and done, I could tell he was as pleased with everything and knew this was something he would never forget. I couldn’t wait until we picked them up on Sunday, so I could hear all of his stories firsthand. Not only that, but I also looked forward to watching his antics as he told us what he’d done, because he could be very animated and quite a showman when doing things of this nature, as we had discovered when he told us about the farm.

Wednesday evening, Jake and Shannon stayed overnight with us, so we could leave early the following morning. We got up before dawn, ate a big breakfast and were on the road shortly after the sun began to illuminate the countryside. Jake and I had wireless radios to communicate between the two vehicles with, so we could discuss such things as when we needed to stop for gas or inform the other if an unexpected problem arose. It was just a small precaution I felt we should take, so we wouldn’t get separated.

The boys were still kind of groggy and slept for most of this first leg of the trip, but began to stir to life about three hours later, when we made our first stop. It was merely so each of them could get something to drink, use the restrooms and stretch and walk around a bit in order to loosen up their stiff muscles before we continued. After we resumed our journey, we drove until we got closer to the city and then discussed stopping to eat, as it was nearly lunchtime by then.

The boys saw a sign indicating there was a Burger King ahead and wanted to stop there to eat. Although Jake and I would have preferred a diner or ‘real’ restaurant, we gave in to their request and pulled into the BK parking lot. Seeing the type of establishment it was, it didn’t take long before we were on our way again. As expected, the food had been delivered almost instantly after they took our orders and the boys gobbled it down in no time at all. As we resumed our trip, some of the boys chose to listen to their portable CD players, while others competed on the hand held games or looked out the windows at the scenery.

When we reached New York City, the boys were eagerly staring out the windows and trying to take in all the sights. Jake and I drove directly to our hotel, parked the vehicles in the hotel’s underground garage and then took the elevator to the lobby, where we checked in. After taking our luggage to our rooms and getting settled, I let the boys roam around in groups for a short time, so they could become familiar with what the hotel had to offer. We would be using it as our base of operation, but would move from location to location by either walking or utilizing public transportation. This was because neither Jake nor I looked forward to trying to find our way around the maze of streets or competing with the bumper to bumper traffic, let alone thinking about trying to find parking spaces after we got where we were going. We thought that would be more of a hassle than either of us wanted, so we opted to use the city’s buses and trains instead. In fact, I had selected this particular hotel because it was pretty centrally located to everyplace we were planning to go and within walking distance of Grand Central Station.

Once we were settled, I got the boys together and guided them to our first stop, the Empire State Building. This famous structure had held the title of the tallest building in the world for many years, from its completion in 1931 and until the World Trade Center’s North Tower was opened in 1972. The Empire State Building had 102 floors, which rose 1,224 feet above street level, and took the distinction away from the neighboring Chrysler Building, which had only held the title of tallest building in the world for a few months.

From the lobby, we used the high-speed elevators to get to the observation deck on the 86th floor, which was 1,050 feet up. I was convinced none of the boys would want to try to walk up the more than 1550 step to get to the 86th floor on their own and I certainly wasn’t feeling up to that much exercise. When we got there, we immediately discovered it had a glass-enclosed observation area for inclement days, but there were also outdoor promenades, which were located on all four sides of the building.

“Let’s go outside,” Graham teased. “I want to see what it looks like out in the open.” I agreed and we walked out onto one of the walkways. These could be used when the weather was nice and let you hear, as well as see, the city.

“Why had they got this fence all around it?” Andrew asked, after noticing the protective device.

“It’s to keep people from falling or jumping from here,” I replied.
“People would actually try that?” Graham asked, somewhat bewildered.

“Unfortunately, they do,” I answered. “It was added in 1947 to prevent suicide attempts, after many attempts, but now it also prevents daredevils from base jumping from here.”

“What’s that?” Sammy wanted to know.

“It’s where you jump off of a building, antenna, bridge or cliff, to experience free fall, before activating a parachute so you can land safely.”

“Why don’t they just go skydiving then?” Brent followed, looking slightly confused.

“That’s a good question,” I responded, “but I think it probably has to do with expense and availability. Besides, it’s probably more fun to explain that you jumped off of the Empire State Building, the Sears Tower, the CN Tower in Toronto or the edge of the Grand Canyon than to say you jumped out of an airplane.” That seemed to answers everyone’s questions and no more were asked.

Along the promenades there were coin operated, high-powered binoculars the public could use to get a better glimpse of areas they might be interested in viewing close up. From this location, we were able to see into four other states (New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts), plus many of the city’s wondrous and famous landmarks, as well as anything else in the immediate area.

The Empire State Building took just over a year to complete and cost slightly less than $41 million. The price of the actual cost of constructing the building had been cut in half with the onset of the depression, but it also provided much-needed jobs during that very trying time. It almost instantly became the focal point of the city and was featured in one of the most thrilling scenes in the original movie version of ‘King Kong.’

This structure has also been the scene of several tragedies as well, such as a fatality that happened at the end of World War II. In 1945, an Army Air Corps B-25 twin-engine bomber was flying in a dense fog and crashed into the 79th floor of the building. Fourteen people were killed in that accident and the building suffered $1 million worth of damage, but its structural integrity was unaffected. There have also been more than thirty suicides from the top floors of the building, and not only from the observation areas.

In addition to those more gruesome events, the Empire State Building is also the first place many visitors to the area wish to tour, including some very famous people throughout its early years. During that time span, it has hosted royalty (Queen Elizabeth, Prince Charles & the King of Siam), heads-of-state (President Herbert Hoover, Winston Churchill, Fidel Castro & Nikita Krushchev), religious leaders (Pope Pius XII, among others) and thousands of celebrities (including Lassie and Albert Einstein).

Before we left the 86th floor, we stopped at the souvenir stand, so each of the boys could pick up a little keepsake to remind them of their visit. They selected a variety of different items, as each of them had very distinct ideas about what he wanted, but I didn’t care what they chose, as long as they were happy with what they purchased and it would remind them of this stop for years to come. Personally, I picked up a miniature of the building, which I would proudly display in our home.

Once we finished there, I took everyone over to the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, so they could compare the two and see the building that replaced the Empire State Building as the tallest in the world, at least for a few years. The twin towers were 110 stories high, or approximately 1,350 feet above the city. There was a closed observation deck on the top floor, but they also had a rooftop promenade. The outdoor promenade is only open under perfect conditions, and even though it was a fairly nice day when we were there, the conditions were not favorable to open that area to the public.

“Man, why can’t we go out there?” Brent asked, disappointed. “We went on the outdoor areas at the Empire State Building.”

“It might be due to the fact that we are higher up here,” I suggested, “or possibly the winds have increased since we were at the Empire State Building.”

“The winds were quite gusty as we walked over here,” Jake offered, “so the conditions may have changed enough so they no longer feel it’s safe to let people out there.” Although many of the boys were still a bit dismayed over this lack of opportunity, they did quit complaining. I knew they would also get over their disappointment fairly quickly, as we tried to see as much as we could, from the areas we were allowed to use.

Speaking from an aesthetic perspective, there was nothing architecturally striking about the Twin Towers’ appearance, other than their height, as there was with the Empire State Building. They were basically just two large rectangular structures that rose high above the city’s skyline, but the view from the top floor was inspiring. I was shocked when the boys said they didn’t notice much of a difference in what they could see from here or and the Empire State Building, but I thought the view of the harbor and Statue of Liberty was breathtaking.

It was now approaching late afternoon, so we made our way back to the hotel to wash up and change for dinner. I had another little surprise lined up for the boys, but tried not to let them know in advance what we’d be doing. I preferred to see their reactions firsthand, as they learned what was in store for them.

The boys had given me plenty of suggestions of what they might like to do, after I told them about this trip in this first place, so I tried to incorporate as many of those ideas into our plans, as was possible. However, I also added a few of my own ideas, even though I knew the boys didn’t always agree with this approach. Fortunately, they had learned to trust my judgment, at least for the most part, and didn’t usually give me a tough time over our itinerary. Although they weren’t totally thrilled by some of the things we did, they knew I would probably arrange something else that they would find more interesting later, and that’s exactly what I was trying to do now. We were going to start off the evening having dinner at the Hard Rock Café, and then I would take them to see a Broadway musical.

As we approached the Hard Rock café, the boys noticed the rear end of an old Cadillac sticking out from the building. However, it was not due to an accident, but designed that way to give the place a distinctive air. The Caddy was probably a ’59 or ’60 judging by the fins, and was sticking out of the building a few feet above street level. Each of them seemed to be excited about being there and tried to see everything they could, once we were inside.

Every one of them was busy exploring the place visually, while we waited to be seated. Once we were taken to our tables, we quickly checked out the menus and ordered, and then the boys continued their visual inspection of the place while we waited for our food. The boys excitedly pointed out many different items to each other, while also commenting on them and learning more about this fascinating place. We concluded there were many stories being told within those four walls, which included the history behind the multitude of collectibles on display.

The menu was more varied than I had anticipated, and although the food was more than satisfactory, it was the atmosphere and music that held the boys attention. They spent much of their time commenting on the songs being played and pointing out various memorabilia that had something to do with people they knew of and admired. They also asked questions about the items they didn’t recognize, which got them talking excitedly in small groups, when they tried to learn if anyone else had the answer they were looking for. These groups were constantly changing, as someone new joined in or others moved on to another group, but everyone was full of enthusiasm and very talkative. However, if they couldn’t get their answers that way, they would ask either Jake or myself, to see if we knew.

By the time we finished our meal and had dessert, the boys wanted to go to the memorabilia shop, so they could buy things to remember this visit by. They had each brought some of their own money, so they went to pick out exactly what they wanted, but most of them came back with Hard Rock Café tee shirts and baseball caps, among other things. We put them all in a tote bag that one of the older boys had purchased and then moved on to our next stop. As we exited the building, I announced where we were going next.

I don’t think many of the boys were familiar with the musical I had selected, but I felt it might offer the most relevance to their own lives. I also concluded they would probably enjoy this show more than some of the others that were currently running and settled on the musical ‘Rent.’ Almost immediately, the boys began peppering me with questions as to what it was about, so I gave them a little background information. I merely told them it was about a group of young people and the focus was on how they dealt with some of the choices they had to make in life and the consequences that resulted because of their decisions.

After we took our seats in the theater, the boys began looking through the programs, to see if they could glean more about this production than what I had told them. However, I would be more interested to hear how they interpreted what they were about to see after the show was over. Once the theater darkened and the curtains opened, the boys became wrapped up in the storyline and were intrigued by how it explored such issues as homosexuality, drug abuse, AIDS and homelessness. The title of the production came about because of what a couple of the characters were asked to do in order to cover the rent for their apartment. The whole production was very well done and the songs were terrific. The older boys understood the meaning behind some of the topics broached, while the younger ones just enjoyed the performances entertaining qualities. I thought this outing was fairly well received by everyone.

When we got back to our hotel rooms, some of the boys wanted to come to my room and talk more about what we had seen. I thought that was a terrific idea, so nearly everyone piled into my room, which I was also sharing with Jake. As the discussion began, I could tell Mark was a bit uncomfortable and it appeared that something was bothering him, so finally I decided to confront him about it.

“Mark, I can tell you are troubled by something you’ve seen or heard tonight,” I began, startling him. “Would you like to talk about it?”

Mark was stunned that I had singled him out in front of the others, but after a few seconds, which may have dragged out to a couple of minutes, he cleared his throat and responded. “Look, I know some of your boys are gay and all,” he stammered, “and that doesn’t really bother me, but aren’t you scared they’ll get AIDS and die?”

Suddenly, I understood his concerns. Some of the characters in Rent were HIV positive and had to deal with the realities of the living with the disease, and Mark had transferred this over to my sons. I understood where he was coming from and was actually quite pleased he cared enough about the boys to worry like this, but Danny answered him before I could.

“Mark, most of us don’t mess around all that much,” he told him, “and Dad has made sure we know what the disease is, how it’s spread and ways for us to guard against getting it. We are concerned about it too, but we can’t change who we are, so we’ll just be careful and do as much as we can to protect ourselves.”

“I just don’t know how I’d feel if one of you had that disease and were dying,” he replied. His voice began to choke up on him as he continued. “I mean, you’d get really sick first and then die, and I don’t think I could deal with that. I’ve only had my mother and myself to worry about in the past and I haven’t known you guys for very long, but you’re like my brothers now and I wouldn’t be able to stand losing any of you.”

I could see all the moisture building up in his eyes and his voice was trembling as he finished. The other boys were deeply touched by his concern about them and for not passing judgment about their sexual orientation. Needless to say, we were all deeply moved by his pronouncement.

I think it was Danny and Brandon who first reacted, once Mark finished, and they walked over and wrapped their arms around him. While doing this, they also tried to reassure him that each of them would avoid taking unnecessary risks and would do all they could to keep from being exposed. As this was going on, some of the other boys also made their way over to Mark and placed a hand on his shoulder, rubbed his back or merely touched his arm. These simple gestures were offered to show him they understood his concerns and thanked him for caring. We did discuss this topic in greater length before we retired and broached all of the relevant issues this topic evoked. I think we all felt a little better, once everything was out in the open.

Once we finished talking about HIV and AIDS, we went on to discuss the issues of drug use and homelessness. That latter topic reminded Nick about the family in Arizona, so he eagerly shared a little about their situation with Mark. Once he finished bringing Mark up to date about them, Nick asked if there wasn’t something we could do when it came to families with children who were homeless. I told him we could study the topic in greater depth once we were home, and the boys suggested the charity might be able to focus on that segment, so we could help more of those people out.

As they continued to explore this topic, Jake and I kind of withdrew from being active participants in the discussion and opted to sit back and listen to what the boys had to say. We only responded when we were asked questions directly, but I was often amazed by how the boys could think of things other adults or I had never considered. Therefore, I wanted to see what types of ideas their brainstorming session might produce without my interference.

I did go off on a brief mental tangent, however, when I thought back to the moment when I’d first considered buying tickets to a Broadway show. My original concern was that the boys would enjoy what they saw, but I never imagined the extent of the insights they might gain from it, the level of impact it had on them or the profound concern they showed over the multiple topics the performance addressed.

After we had exhausted ourselves by delving into the various issues, I hustled everyone off to bed, while reminding them we had another busy day ahead of us tomorrow. I learned later that Mark had spent the night with Danny and Brandon and they all actually slept in one bed. This was due to the fact they had continued their discussion when they went to the room and kept talking about everything until they nodded off, totally spent. Although the bonds between these boys weren’t sexual or romantic, they still ran deep. It was obvious, at least to me, how close they had become since that first chance meeting. Not only were they close friends, but their concern for each other also went much deeper than that. It was an initial physical attraction that had grown into something more profound and personal, as the boys had bonded in a way that most people would never understand.

Mark had become family and this family was bound together much more tightly than by just bonds of blood. We were an eclectic group, of mostly unrelated souls, who loved each other and would sacrifice much to guarantee each other’s continued well-being.