take off and land.
âLook, Benny, weâll probably be on a big jet like that,â said Henry. He pointed to the Boeing 737 that was speeding down the runway. âBut when we change in Detroit, weâll be on a puddle jumper.â
âA what?â asked Benny.
âHe means a very small plane that only carries about twenty or thirty people,â Jessie explained.
âOh,â said Benny.
âFlight 131 is ready for boarding,â an announcer spoke into a microphone.
âThatâs us. Thatâs our flight.â Henry sounded very excited.
* * *
Benny had a seat next to the window right near Grandfather. Violet, Jessie, and Henry were on the other side of the aisle. When the plane was high in the air, the flight attendant announced it would be all right to move around the cabin.
âThank goodness. I need to stretch my legs,â said Jessie.
âWhen is lunch?â asked Benny as he crossed the aisle to stand by Henryâs seat.
Grandfather said, âYou may have to be patient, Benny. The flight attendants have a lot of people to serve on this flight.â
âHere, Benny, Iâll show you where weâre going,â said Henry as he unfolded one of the many maps he carried in his jacket. âWeâre flying over these states,â he continued as he traced a line with his finger over Massachusetts and New York. âHere is Detroit.â Henry pointed to the city in the southern part of Michigan. âFrom there weâll catch a small plane and fly over the rest of Michigan and Wisconsin.â
âWeâre going to the part of Michigan that looks like a shoe,â said Benny.
âRight,â said Henry.
Benny sat down and tried to concentrate on the map Henry had given him. But his stomach was rumbling. âGrandfather,â he said, poking James Alden in the arm. âCan you tell me again about Great-aunt Sophie and her big house in Michigan?â
âOf course, Benny.â Grandfather liked telling the story almost as much as his grandchildren liked hearing it. âWhen I was a boy about your age, my parents would take me to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan almost every summer. We would always stay with Aunt Sophie in her big house near the lake.â
âYou mean Lake Superior,â said Benny. He noticed that Grandfather had changed part of one of his favorite stories.
âYes. Lake Superior,â said Grandfather. âWhen my other cousins visited, they would stay in the big house, too. We would try to spend as much time outside as we could: fishing, camping, and visiting the copper mines.â
âCopper mines?â Benny interrupted.
âYes, the Upper Peninsula used to be filled with working copper mines. Most of them have been shut down now.â
âOh.â Benny sounded disappointed.
âAnyway,â Grandfather continued, âwhen it rained and we had to stay indoors, we would explore the old house. One summer we found a hidden passageway that connected the library to the attic, and another time we found a secret closet off the kitchen.â
âWhat was in the secret closet?â asked Benny, even though he knew the answer.
âOh, old snowshoes â and some very old toys that had belonged to my father. We found an old model sailboat and a beautiful rocking horse that my uncle had carved out of wood for his children.â
Benny smiled. âI canât wait to explore the old house. Iâm sure weâll find something exciting there.â
Grandfather chuckled. âYou probably will, Benny.â
âGrandfather?â asked Violet from across the narrow aisle. âHow come you never visited Aunt Sophieâs house after you were eighteen?â
âWell,â answered Grandfather, âAunt Sophie started coming down to visit my family more often. And at eighteen, I started college and worked during the summers, so I did not have as much time to make that