Sunday 31st July
Today, Harvey has turned six years old. John is turning the same age on 25th November, Caroline will be turning nine on 27th November, LJ will be turning three on 22nd November, and Rachel will be turning the same age as LJ on 20th October. Harvey is excited about seeing what presents he has to open from his dads and siblings and the rest of his family, he also hopes to be going to Florida today. He jumps out of his bed (with the dark blue planet-themed quilt covers and matching pillowcase) and sprints out of his room and goes across the hall to his parent's room, opens the door and enters the room but to his surprise, no one is in there, so he makes his way down to the first floor as he's done many times before, he looks in one of the first rooms that he comes across and spots his youngest brother LJ with the rest of their siblings, he goes over to LJ and asks:
"Where are dad and daddy?" LJ shrugs in response. So much for asking a two-year-old that type of question, Harvey says to himself. After attempting to get a verbal answer to his fairly easy question, the now six-year-old hears the voices of his dads coming into the room where he and his siblings are.
"We can take them all to Florida today for Harv's birthday," he hears his dad saying
"I'm sure they'd enjoy that, especially Harv," he hears his daddy reply.
Harvey turns his head to the left of him and sees his dads standing in the doorway, he gets up from where he was sitting with his brothers and sisters and runs up to his dads who turn and notice him coming towards them. He jumps in between them, making both of them catch him and hold either side of him, then Jack says to him cheerfully:
"Happy birthday, Harvey!"
"Happy birthday, Harv!" Lee says also
"Thanks! What have I gotten for my birthday presents?" Harvey asks trying to hide the fact that he unintentionally eavesdropped on his parents' conversation about what he guesses is his main present - the flight to Florida. Once he is dressed in his usual attire - NASA merchandise and his hat, he goes into the Blue Room where he was with his dad and uncles yesterday, he sees his dads standing next to each other and his brothers and sisters sitting in various chairs that are in the room. He also takes notice that his dad has one arm behind his back holding something he assumes, which must be for him. He watches in anticipation as his dad reveals to him a small blue booklet with a long piece of paper wedged between the pages. He takes it into his small hands and speculates it: PASSPORT (United States seal) United States of America adorns the front cover.
"What's this?" He asks in confusion
"It's your passport," Jack answers
"Why do I need a passport?"
"Open it and see," Lee answers this time
"OK." He opens it up at the page with the holder's information and beside it is a plane ticket for his trip to Florida.
"I'm going to Florida?! Yay!" Harvey says enthusiastically whilst jumping up and down in excitement
"We all are," chips in Caroline
"Wait, what does all of this mean? And why is there a picture of me?" Harvey asks noticing the holder's information on the page beside his plane ticket.
"That's just information saying that it's your passport," answers Jack
"Oh, alright." He looks intently at the information page, which reads as follows:
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Type: P Code: USA Passport No. 31071960
Surname: OSWALD-KENNEDY
Given Names: HARVEY FITZGERALD
Nationality: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Date of Birth: 31 JUL 1960
Place of Birth: WASHINGTON, U.S.A.
Sex: M
Date of Issue: 15 JUL 1966
Date of Expiration: 17 JUL 1971
"When are we leaving for Florida?!"
"Soon, but do you not want to see what else you've got?" Jack asks the hyped-up six-year-old
"Sure, okay." He follows his parents and siblings up to the family dining room where the rest of his presents are. All eight of them enter the dining room with the birthday boy leading the way, he notices the bundle of presents on the table. The first one he picks up with the card sellotaped on, he hears his dad inform him:
"That's from Uncle Bobby and Aunt Ethel," Harvey takes the card off first, opens it and doesn't bother reading it - more interested in the gift he is yet to unwrap. He tears open the wrapping paper and he is greeted by the sight of a collection of books on astronomy. Next, he opens his second present - more books on space but this time there are nine individual books detailing about all the planets in the solar system, and this is from Aunt Jean and Uncle Stephen, next he moves on to the third present in the pile - a football and a Patriots hoodie from Grandma Rose and Grandpa Joe, next he opens number four - a Red Sox cap with his first name sewn onto the back and a signed baseball bat, mitt and ball from Aunt Eunice and Uncle Sarge, next he gets to number five - a telescope from Grandma Marguerite, Uncle Jon and Uncle Robert, next he opens number six - a signed and framed picture of The Beatles from Aunt Patricia, and finally number seven - tickets to the District of Columbia Stadium to see The Beatles from Uncle Ted and Aunt Joan.
"That's not all your presents, Harv," he hears his dad saying as he gets a long box and a medium-sized one laid out in front of him, he opens the first one and notices the name Fender straight away.
"I've got a Fender guitar and a red one too, just as I'd asked for!" He moves onto the medium present which reveals a fair-sized Marshall amp to go along with his new guitar.
Once going through all of his presents and reading his birthday cards (well, more like being read out for him) he goes upstairs to his room and starts to get some stuff he wants to take with him to Florida to keep himself occupied for when he's on the plane, he's also took up his presents as well so now they're lying haphazardly on his bed. He gets his little dark blue NASA backpack from the cupboard where his jackets live and start to put some of the new books that he got to keep him occupied during the flight he also packs a packet of small foam earplugs that he can use to drown out the noise of the engines and to help when his ears pop due to the air pressure. He also swaps his usual hat for his brand new one, he runs his index finger along the red stitching at the back tracing each letter of his name in a cursive font - he zips up the bag using one of the zippers with a solar system key ring with his name on it and the other one at the other side bears a football and a rocket too, on the top of the bag just below the NASA logo there is stitched: H. Oswald-Kennedy in a cursive font.
After what felt like an eternity, well an eternity to a six-year-old, it's finally time to drive to the airport where Air Force One is and head down to Florida as part of the presents that Harvey was wanting to get. With his bag packed with things that he wants to take with him, he comes out of his room with his bag hanging off of his left shoulder and his trainers on both feet with the undone laces again and goes all the way to the ground floor of the residence building and out the door to a waiting car with his dads, siblings and Secret Service agents. The ride to the airport doesn't take too long and once the eight of them - 12 if you count the four Secret Servicemen, they enter the airport and Harvey looks confused and uneasy as he is in a new environment. He follows up ahead where his dads are, leaving his five siblings trailing behind with the Secret Service; he looks up at his dad and asks his imminent inquiry:
"Where are we going?"
"We have to go through the security procedures first before we can board the plane,"
"Why?"
"Because they have to check if you're not carrying anything that you're not supposed to,"
"But all I've got is books, I'm not carrying anything bad,"
"But they don't know that, do they? That's why they have to check before they let you on the plane,"
"I kinda understand now,"
"They also have metal detectors that will make noise if you've got anything metal on you, so it's nothing to worry about if it goes off, okay?"
"Okay. What else do you need to do?"
"You'll have to hand over your passport,"
"Why?"
"So, they know how many people are going on the plane, and if it's a large group like ours it's so everyone gets accounted for,"
"Do we all have to do it?"
"Yeah."
"Will we get them back?"
"Don't worry, we'll all get our passports back. Once they check it they hand it straight back to you anyways,"
Getting through security without a hitch is a huge relief to everyone, with no meltdowns needing to be diffused. So, now they can all finally board Air Force One and get everyone ready before take-off to Florida. Once aboard, Harvey takes a look at the luxurious interior of the presidential plane with his mouth hanging open like a fish; he takes off in a sprint down the aisle and comes across a sort of hidden door in the wall near the tail end of the plane, he looks at it perplexed and asks:
"What's this?"
"My office." Replies Jack
"You've even got an office on Air Force One?!" Harvey asks excitedly half-shouting
"Of course. It's the presidential plane, isn't it?"
"Yeah." After the birthday boy gets an exclusive tour of Air Force One and everyone is seated, it's time to jet off down to Florida! After an almost two-hour flight, Air Force One lands at Merritt Island where the Launch Operations Centre is. Once at the entrance of the vast building, everyone gets greeted by a NASA employee. When they get into the building the doorman says that he's a tour guide of the Launch Operations Centre. After going to various areas, the second last destination of the tour is a control room similar to its more famous Houston counterpart, all of the control men pottering around working here and there and some are glued to the little monitor screens - throughout this whole tour so far, Harvey has been in awe at everything in sight and asking an overload of questions and divulging in his own amount of knowledge about his main obsession. And the tour concludes with a prototype of the brand new Saturn Five rocket for the upcoming Apollo 1 mission which is scheduled for 10th October, two months and 11 days away. Harvey is mesmerised to see the rocket that will send America's first load of astronauts destined to make it to the moon, and hopefully one day he will see one of his dad's ultimate goals for the nation before this decade is out and onto the next one. After the tour is over, the tour guide tells everyone about the little gift shop on site - which of course birthday boy makes a beeline for! Scanning the numerous shelves of the shop indecisive, Harvey can't pick what he wants to spend the birthday money that he got with his cards from his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins - he can't make his mind up if he wants to get just a small thing or a really large thing. After a long while of weighing his options, he decides that he wants a Saturn Five lava lamp for his room, the bottom of the rocket where the boosters are where the enormous flames would come out is the "lava" liquid which of course lights up, in a light yellowy-orange hue to give the impression of the flames and as if the rocket is taking off for the skies and outer space.
After enjoying a day out at the Operations Centre and having the time of his life, it's now time to head back onboard Air Force One and go back home to the White House for the rest of his birthday festivities. Arriving back at the airport with his family and the Secret Service agents, Harvey is at the back of the group fiddling with some other trinkets he got at the gift shop - some new key rings for his bag which he's determined to put on the other key rings that he's already got attached. Suddenly, he's by himself with millions of other travellers whizzing by to catch their flights, he's managed to get one key ring attached to his bag; he looks up and doesn't see his family or the Secret Servicemen in front of him. He starts to run in the direction he thinks his family and the agents went. He continues to sprint through the terminal without even a slight glimpse of his family, surely the president, vice-president, five kids and four agents aren't hard to miss? He eventually gets to the departure gate and spots an airport worker standing near the large door that you go through to board a plane, he stops running and says to the man:
"I can't find my family and I'm supposed to be going on Air Force One to fly back to Washington,"
"Where did you see them last?"
"When we were in the airport terminal,"
"Okay, well this flight is going to Washington," the man lies
"Well, if it gets me home I suppose it'll be fine, but I'd rather be with my family,"
"Oh don't worry, this is going on the same flight path as Air Force One," the man lies again
"Alright." Harvey boards the plane that he thinks is going to take him home to Washington... it's going somewhere different entirely! He finds an empty seat on the almost full plane and pulls out one of his books from his bag that he's not read yet, he becomes so engrossed in reading he barely hears the air hostess at the plane door announcing to the passengers where the plane is going. Once the plane lands at what Harvey thinks is the same airport that he left earlier on, he looks around frantically for his family - his dads at least, but doesn't see them anywhere, he instead sees people waiting around for flights in the main terminal of the yet unknown airport; it just so happens that he catches the end of the welcome sign in front of him reading Welcome to Dallas Love Field Airport that he now realises where he has wound up instead of Andrews Air Base in Washington, his eyes scan the area looking for a kiosk of some sort to get a map so he can navigate his way around the unfamiliar city. He sees one just off centre of his line of sight and goes over to the stand that holds brochures and other informative pamphlets for travellers, he picks one up and also sees a stand to his left filled with notepads and pencils adorned with the Texas state flag – blue, white and red with a white star in the blue section of the flag, he picks up the extra items and looks around for anyone in close vicinity, then puts the notepad and pencil in the front pocket of his hoodie, then folds up the brochure and puts it into his right trouser pocket. He notices the exit sign facing him and follows the crowd of people who are going out of the airport, he makes his way outside and the first thing he sees is the line of coaches with their idling engines running waiting for passengers to board, he takes out his folded brochure from his trouser pocket, unfolds it and opens it in the hope of finding a map of the city; he finds the map spanning the second and third pages of the pamphlet. He looks for place names that he is familiar with, such as Fort Worth (where he knows his grandma, aunts and uncles live) and of course the infamous place where his parents met, Dealey Plaza in between Houston and Elm Street, he now has to figure out how to get to Fort Worth because he would rather be with family than wandering around a city he doesn't know; he notices on the map where the airport is marked that there is a symbol for train services from the airport, so he heads back inside on the lookout for the station. He arrives at the station within Terminal B and spots the little kiosk where he can purchase a ticket from, he goes over to the semi-bored looking man and asks him:
"How much is a single ticket to Fort Worth?"
"$0.27,"
"Okay," he takes his bag off of both of his shoulders, opens the front part and sifts through his birthday money mostly comprising of notes until he finds a few stray coins from his purchase in Florida when he got his new lamp, he takes the handful of coins out and finds a quarter and a two cents coin in amongst the others, he puts the two coins in his right back trouser pocket, puts the rest of the money back where it belongs, zips his bag back up, and then puts it over one shoulder. He gives the man the money, then gets his one-way ticket to Fort Worth he thanks the man and makes his way over to the platform to wait on the train arriving. He suddenly realises that if he is going to go to his Grandma Marguerite's he has to at least give her a phone rather than just show up unannounced, so he looks around for a phone box nearby; he finds one near the exit of the small train station, he makes his way over, goes in and looks at the sign reading the price range of phone calls which is $0.10, he goes back into his bag again and fishes out the jumble of coins and finds 10 cents, zipping his bag back up but leaving it on the ground he opens up the large phonebook, uses his right hand to flip through the pages to get to all of the surnames starting with the letter O, he uses his right index finger and goes down all of the names until he comes across his Grandma Marguerite. He takes out the notepad and pencil that is still in the front pocket of his hoodie and begins to jot the number down, once doing so he picks up the phone and holds it to his right ear, puts his 10 cents into the slot and begins to dial the number that he's got written down. After the second ring, he hears his Grandma Marguerite answering.
"Hello?"
"Hi, Grandma, it's me Harvey. Guess where I am?!"
"Are you back home from Florida?"
"No, I'm in Dallas,"
"Oh are you with your dads?"
"No, they're back home with everyone else. I got on the wrong plane at the Florida airport and got took here,"
"How did you end up on the wrong plane?"
"The man at the airport told me that the plane that took me here was going to take me to Washington, but I've now realised that he lied to me and you know how I take everything literally,"
"That's terrible! And on your birthday too!"
"I know, that's why I've bought a train ticket to Fort Worth so I could come and see you rather than walk around the city on my own,"
"How much did the ticket cost you?"
"It was only 27 cents plus the 10 cents I'm using now for the payphone,"
"You didn't have to do that and waste 37 cents, because I'm sure your Uncle Robert wouldn't mind picking you up from the airport,"
"Oh okay, that is a lot more safer I guess than travelling on my own,"
"No, you don't want to be travelling on your own again. I'll give him a call and I'll see if he's available,"
"Okay thanks, Grandma, I'll see you soon, bye!"
"I'll see you soon, Harvey, just stay in the airport until your Uncle Robert comes I don't want you to end up lost,"
"Okay, I'll just stay in the main terminal then,"
"I think that's a good idea. Okay, I'll go and call your Uncle Robert now and I'll see you when you come over." He hangs up the phone and comes out of the phone box and goes back across to the main terminal and finds an empty seat to sit in until his uncle shows up. After waiting for about 10 minutes, he stops staring at the floor in a daydream and turns his head to the left and sees his Uncle Robert coming towards him, he gets up out of his seat, takes his bag in his right hand and puts the straps over both shoulders and makes his way over to his uncle.
"Hi, Uncle Robert!" He greets his uncle as he jogs lightly toward him
"Hey, buddy, happy birthday!"
"Thanks! I'm glad I don't have to go on the train by myself now,"
"I wouldn't want you going on a train on your own either, but I've got you now so you're fine." He looks down at the now useless train ticket still in his hand and looks up at his uncle to ask:
"What do I do with this? It's no use to me now,"
"There's a trash can over there," Robert replies pointing over to the bin near the entrance to the airport; Harvey runs towards it and discards the ticket then walks out of the airport with his uncle just behind him. The two make it out to the car park and where Robert has parked the car, once it's been unlocked Harvey opens the passenger side door to climb in and take his bag off his shoulders, he places it in the footwell then puts his seat belt on as his uncle starts up the car to take him to his Grandma Marguerite's. He turns his head slightly to the left to ask his uncle:
"Do you think I'd be able to phone my dads once I get to grandmas?"
"I don't see why not. Maybe they've already phoned to see where you are because they'll be worried about you,"
"Yeah, maybe. I know, I was freaked out when I landed here."
Arriving outside of his Grandma Marguerite's, Harvey opens the car door and grabs his bag from the footwell and closes the door and follows behind his uncle as the two of them head towards the front door and into the hallway where he can hear a euphony of voices coming from the living room that he immediately recognises as his dads, siblings, and grandma. He enters the room just behind his uncle and sees his family sitting in various places in the room, his dad looks up and sees him standing in the doorway beside his uncle and says to him with relief:
"Hey, buddy, I'm glad you're okay,"
"Me too. I would've hated wandering around a city that I don't know,"
"It's just as well your Uncle Robert came and got you, isn't it?" Jack questions him as he looks over at his brother-in-law who is now seated beside LJ on the opposite couch
"Yeah, I guess." He goes to sit in between his parents, turns his head towards his daddy and questions:
"What's going to happen now? Are we going home or what?"
"It's up to you. We can start to head home or we can stay here for a while if you want," Harvey contemplates his options for a few seconds and replies with:
"I'll stay here for a while."
After spending a few hours at his Grandma Marguerite's, Harvey follows behind his family as they make their way out of the house and into the Secret Service car that's idling outside to take them back to Love Field to board Air Force One to fly back home to D.C. After a long journey and an equally long day, they finally make it back to the White House where the rest of Harvey's family have been waiting for his return from Dallas to continue with the planned activities for the last couple of hours that's left of his birthday before it gets to midnight; he makes his way up to where he was this morning to receive his presents - the family dining room, where his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins are waiting for him. He enters the room and sees the large group sitting around the dining table in the centre, his uncles Bobby and Ted are the first to notice him as Ted greets him with:
"Hey, Harv! It's good to have you back, we've all missed you, buddy!"
"I'm glad to be back where I belong. I've missed everyone too; I can't wait to see what else is planned for the rest of my birthday." And just as he says this, his cake - a plain sponge decorated in dark blue icing with a moulded cake topper caricature of himself as an astronaut surrounded by fondant white stars and red icing reading: Happy 6th Birthday Harvey! along with six burning candles waiting to be blown out by the birthday boy is brought in by the White House chef as his family starts to sing Happy Birthday to him, he makes a wish and blows the candles out as everyone cheers for him; once the candles are taken off he's given a hand with using a kitchen knife to cut it into pieces for everyone.
Once his little party is over, he says goodbye to his grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins then heads upstairs with his brothers and sisters to his room to change into his pyjamas and start to get ready for bed; he takes his pyjamas out of the drawer and begins to get out of his clothes which he tosses over to his room door once dressed, then goes over to his pile of new books that are still to be put onto his bookshelf. He takes the first book off of the pile, a biographical novel on Serbian born electrical engineering pioneer and scientist, Nikola Tesla; he takes it over to his bed and places it onto his covers, he keeps his bedroom light on as his new lava lamp hasn't been set up yet and begins to read it until he starts to feel tired, he goes over and switches his light off and puts the book on his bedside cabinet, then pulls his cover over himself and starts to drift off into a pleasant slumber after a joyous and adventurous sixth birthday.