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My Son, the Presidential Whiz-Kid!

casey-hayes
Explorer C
If you asked mos100_0163t five-year-olds where they’d most like to go  on vacation, I would guess someplace like Disneyland or Disney World would be at the top of their lists.  But if you asked my son Arden the same question, his answer would be Independence, Missouri, otherwise known as the home of Harry S. Truman and a variety of Truman historical sites. Not typical of his age, Arden has always had a fascination with U.S. presidents—his favorite of which is Truman, hence the choice of destination.   The opportunity arose for our family to take a trip to Independence, and lucky for us, Southwest Airlines heard about Arden’s unique passion and offered to fly our family to make Arden’s dream vacation a100_0060 reality! The next thing we knew we had bags packed and were hopping onto a red-bellied 737 to Kansas City (Southwest’s closest touch point to Independence). The rest is a whirlwind. We met the mayor of Independence who showed Arden his unique collection of Truman memorabilia and presented him with a few neat gifts. We visited Frontier Trails Museum, the Truman Home, the Truman Presidential Library and Museum, and Clinton's Soda Fountain where Truman got his first job as a young man. We even got to meet and chat with Truman’s grandson. 100_0126I can’t even begin to say how excited and completely in his element Arden was. And the whole trip was made just that much smoother by Southwest’s amazing staff from beginning to end. From making us feel truly welcome on their planes to cheering my son on at the airport, I know my family and particularly Arden will never forget this experience. Thank you.