We're Off To The Wide Open Spaces

[Page 1] US ON A BUS We're Off To The Wide Open Spaces (How would you like to take four children on a bus-vacation tour covering 6,000 miles of the South and Southwest? Well, that's what Charles G. Griffo, news editor of The Star, is doing. He and the children took off on the Greyhound bus vacation while Mrs. G. stays at home with the remaining two Griffo children. Here is his first story on what it is like.) By CHARLES G. GRIFFO Aboard Greyhound Highway Traveler, 1104 - The lush greenery of the southern Indiana hills, as they say in the travel pamphlets, is flipping past the tinted glass of the bus window and telephone poles fly by with monotonous regularity. A portable radio carried by a teen-age passenger in the back seat is blurting out Elvis' recording of "All Shook Up." Which is precisely my physical condition at the present time. IT ISN'T THE thought of the strain of taking four children, Martha, 14; Chuck, 9; Mary, 6, and Gregory, 4½. on a 6,000-mile bus tour the southwest, the land of "gun slingers" and the Indian fighters. It has been the effort required just to get started. "There'll be nothing, to the On Inside Pages 196 Pages In packing," said Mrs. G., who is staying home with a 16- year-old daughter, Patty, and 2-year-old Vincent, when we first discussed the trip. "I'll make all the plans for getting ready. You can take three changes of clothing for each of the children, they each have separate bags," she said. "WE'LL USE synthetic materials that can be easily washed in hotel rooms. We'll plan this scientifically." This caused me to reflectshe had been reading articles written by women who never take children on trips and say all you have to do is be TODAY'S CHUCKLE "The boss is mean," the man told his wife, "but he's fair." "What do you mean by that?" "Well, he's mean to everybody." Down Telling Story Of Child's Dash scientific in your bag packing. In order to outfit the brood for the tour, Mrs. G. went Turn to Page 14, Column 4

[Continuation] THE INDIANAPOLIS STAR Off To The Wide Open Spaces MEMPHIS Charles G. Griffo checks in his fami- western United States.. Al Whitt of Evansly-Charles Jr., 9; Martha, 14; Mary, 6, ville, veteran Greyhound driver, studies and Gregory, 4½-for their "Us On a the tickets. (Star Photo) Bus" venture to the scenic south and Concluded From Page 1 on a shopping trip. She bought some "wash and wear" clothing. DID YOU EVER try putting 2-ounce-weight "Miracle Fabrics" on boys 9 and 4½ who want to be Texas Rangers? We are now carrying at least six pairs of heavyweight denim jeans. They are narrow of hip, they look like cowboy gear but they also take up the major portion of one of the bags which Mrs. G. had said would do for Gregory's three weeks' wardrobe. Buying an adequate summer vacation outfit for children doesn't take much time. My wife spent at least $150 within an hour. I THEN SPENT the better part of a week taking back and exchanging, sizes of pants, shoes, shorts, pajamas and other wearables that either were too large or too small. TEMPORARY OFFICE BANK (62nd Street) 21 MAJOR SERVICES Checking Accounts Savings Mortgage Christmas Accounte Loans Savinas Department store detectives began giving me the eye. I trembled at the shrinkage of a wallet that already looked as if he had been the victim of a street steam roller. "It's amazing how fast children grow," said Mrs. G. matter really hard to figure out sizes unless you take the kids along with you and you know that is impossible, they just have to cram through the final days of school, she said. IN THE CRAMMING department there was little evidence visible, but I kept my mouth shut. I've tried to follow this policy at least around the house, since last summer when I casually mentioned fathers these days don't to spend enough time with their children. I wound up on a 2,500- mile tour of the Smokies and Florida in the family sedan with three of the kids while Mrs. G. stayed at home. Plans for this year's trip followed. It looks like an annual affair. At school the kids told at least 250 other children they were going to shoot Indians, mine for gold, see Wyatt Earp's birthplace, climb a mountain, find uranium and see the sheriff of Cochise, most of which we have in mind. The doctor was on vacation and arrived back only two days before we were scheduled to leave. WE HAD AN early appointment, an occasion which the pediatricians veteran receptionist and nurse's staff no doubt will remember for the rest of their lives. Instead of just four of the Griffo brood, all six were in for shots. Some needed just tetanus, some polio and tetanus. and Martha had what she was sure was poison ivy. She scratched, the doctor looked, it was wheat poisoning. It would go away, he said. The nurse lined up the gang in a style reminiscent of World War I induction center days and the yelps began. BEFORE SHE was fin- ished it was evident back in her mind flitted the thought maybe the Florence Nightingale calling was all hooey. Then there was the job of packing. It was agreed this was to be done at least four days before the trip was to begin. We started packing at 5 a.m. on the morning we were scheduled to leave at 10:15 a.m. We can claim the fact various relatives came over the night before to wish the children well helped foul up the packing. I'm sure we just procrastinated because it seemed an impossible task. So here we are. We'll follow the Gulf Coast, New Orleans, then Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, Juarez, Phoenix, Tucson, Tombstone, Nogales, Santa Fe, Tulsa. We'll visit the real "Boot Hill," the "Last Chance Saloon," the "OK Corral." While Al Whitt of Evansville, a Greyhound veteran of 32 years, followed winding Ind. 37 to Evansville, a route he has driven for 15 years, I sat back to relax. First stop New Orleans. This is the way to travel. "Down. Sit down - Gregory."