Run Away Train, Never Comin' Back

Yesterday afternoon, my 9 year old son Robb, my boyfriend Eli and I got into a small debate over a couple of words. Robb had it in his head that the monitor was the computer, and the tower was called a monitor. We looked online, showed him pictures to convince him which was which, and being the ultra sore loser that he is, he slammed into his room. I went into the living room to fold some clothes, and next thing I know, he's standing there next to me with his backpack and his all purpose stick.

"I think I ought to run away now", he told me. "If you want, you can call 911 after I leave, and they can probably find me and bring me back".

"You really want to run away? Where are you going to go, are you walking?"

He told me that he was going to ride his razor scooter down to Tucson (we're in Phoenix, his dad lives in Tucson about 120 miles away). I told him that he had to do what he thought was best, so he went out back to get his scooter. I watched him meander around the back porch, and then when I saw him heading back towards the door I turned back to folding the clothes, trying to look unconcerned. He came in and stood by the door for a couple of minutes until I noticed him and said "you're still here? Do you need some stuff to take with you?" He said that he thought maybe it would be better to ride his bike, and I agreed. He shuffled back out and stood looking at his bike for a few minutes.

Finally he got on and went out the side gate, and I figured it was time to see who could bluff who the best. I went out the front door to head him off, and said "wait, you really think you just want to go right now? Why are you leaving, just because we said you were wrong?".

He told me "I think I just need to get away for a while. Don't worry, I'll come back."

I told him that I really didn't think that this was the best way to get to Tucson, and that if he thought he could wait til Friday, I'd give him a ride (I was already supposed to take him down Friday anyway). He said no, he just needed an adventure, and he was ready to take all the risks he had to in order to make this trip. "Look, I'll be careful, and I know where I'm going. Well actually I don't know where I'm going, can you draw me a map?" I told him I could, but that it was going to be a really long trip, and maybe he'd be better off waiting til the morning to get a fresh start. He wanted to know how long it would take, and Eli yelled out the door that it would take at least 4 days on a bike. That was enough to convince him to come inside and do a little more logistics planning before he left.

He came inside, and Eli asked him if he had some water. When he said no, Eli told him that he needed at least a gallon a day. We have a big 5 gallon jug of water, and Robb's face just fell when we showed him how much 4 gallons was. I reminded him that he'd also need somewhere to sleep, and Eli offered his sleeping bag. It's a good one, big and puffy, and I told Robbie I could roll it up and tie it to his backpack. At this point he understood that we were talking about sleeping on the desert floor, and asked if I could spot him $50 for a hotel room. I told him they won't rent a room to a person under 18, plus they ask for a credit card, so he was stuck with camping out. Eli took that opportunity to ask, "you have a snakebite kit, right?", and I asked Eli if that would work for scorpions and spiderbites too. I don't know the last time I saw Robbie's eyes get so big.

This was really worrying him, and he started wondering if maybe he couldn't just ride all the way to Casa Grande (halfway point) without stopping for sleep, and once he was there he could go to a Circle K to call his dad to come pick him up. Why it didn't occur to him that he could go to the Circle K down the block from our house, I don't know. He pretty quickly determined that that was too far to ride without sleeping, so he turned to the internet for advice on how to avoid snakes and the like, but with little luck.

I reminded him that my offer was still good for the ride on Friday, and that he might just keep that in mind as a backup plan, but he was still pretty determined. He thought maybe he could hitchhike instead, and get there quicker. So naturally I had to warn him about kidnappers, and people that might run him off the road. Eli stepped in to let him know that if the police saw him they'd pick him up because he was just a kid, and that he might be better off to stay away from the freeway, which would add a couple days to the trip. We left him with that to mull over (during which time Eli suggested we go rent "The Hitcher" to show him).

After about half an hour, Eli went in and sat him down, man to man, and offered to let him borrow his knife so that he could defend himself, or in case a snake bit him he could cut out the poisoned flesh. This proved to be too much, and Robbie decided to take me up on my offer of a ride after all. I told him I'd be happy to, and that night before bed I gave him an extra big hug and said I was glad he was staying, because I would miss him too much and be too worried about him.

The best part was this morning, when I looked in his backpack. He had packed 2 pairs of sunglasses, his marbles, a bunch of tennis balls, some yen and euros that Eli brought him last year, a camera, his binoculars and his deoderant.