Reunion Recalled and Westward Ho – Page Eight

I am finally back on the internet after a fun-filled weekend at Kentucky Lake with family. If you were there and you didn’t have a good time, it ain’t my fault – look in the mirror for the problem.

I realize now, after-the-fact, while I wait for dawn in Memphis, Tennessee, and Chris tries to get another hour or two of sleep that I should have written a few lines about our triennial Family Reunion while it was occurring. Now, on our way back to California, I have to depend on memory for all the fun details and you already know how reliable my memory is; just a notch above piss-poor. The family was having its final breakfast together at the Shade Tree Restaurant in Benton, KY when it dawned on me. Dollar short – day late. Oh well.

It all started… well, maybe that wasn’t the starting place, but it will do… when everyone in Indiana and Georgia finally got on the road for Kentucky Lake. Georgia, it seems, was a little ahead of the rest of us because about half way there in Madisonville, KY I got a call from Sister Jean saying, “Where are you?” “Be there in an hour, sis,” and that’s when Chris and I arrived; about 3:45 P.M. Friday, July 17. Everyone from Georgia was there; Jean, Sylvia, Pete, Brady and Ben. As the checking-in and unpacking began, I suddenly realized that we were missing a vital component – beer, and I was shocked to learn that Benton was located in a dry county and the nearest beer was at least 20 minutes away toward Paducah. I guess it is a 20-minute drive for those who know the area, but Brady and I stopped at three convenience stores before we made it across the county border where, and we should have known, the store name was “Beer and Wine.” Go figure! By the time we returned with the beer, all had arrived and food was on the table. The first crisis passed without anyone really noticing – everyone brought their own beer anyway.

Dan started his DVD shows soon after and he’s good at putting family history, old and new, to music on DVDs. In fact, he’s so good; he can grab your heart showing Vincent van Gough paintings to Don McClean’s song “Vincent,” a video that should be loaded on YouTube for the world to see. All of them grabbed my heart. They made me think that in “this” family there is not one single criticism or feeling of ill will that prevails when we come together. We actually get along about as good as the best do and we may be better at it than any family out there.

We soon turned to games and talking; the latter is what I like best especially if I can do all the talking and especially about politics, investing or religion. I’m sure nobody noticed (tongue in cheek)! Oh well. I wanted to say that I’m not sure “The Shack” is the book we need to be reading, as one unnamed person suggested as we discussed religious themes. Personally, I’m in favor of reading the books of more modern and realistic Prophets, such as “Hot, Flat and Crowded” by Thomas Friedman, or “Palestine – Peace not Apartheid” by Jimmy Carter. Angels do walk the earth if we pay attention. God is talking.

But, the subject changed and other voices needed attention, so the moment to speak my mind passed. Meanwhile, Memphis is waking up to a wet morning although the rain passed in the night. We’re going to try to see Graceland today then head West to San Antonio, TX. New Orleans, according to a woman eating BBQ Ribs at BB Kings Restaurant, is hot, humid, empty and boring so maybe going there some other time is a better idea. That’s okay with me. If we want to be home by the 28^th, then we need to move it.

Dave