2000-08-11 11:25 pm
Getting ready for Reunion
All has been much better since Tuesday night. Mark left a beautiful bouquet of flowers at work for me and I've enjoyed it every day. I brought it home tonight to enjoy some more.
Got a nice review from the boss about my work. Always nice.
Tonight I need to get my stuff together for a trip tomorrow. It is my big family reunion. This reunion has been going on for 114 years in the same place and it is wonderful. Saturday night we'll have hotdogs and visiting under two hundred year old oaks and pecans. Several in the family (okay, maybe two) are talented musicians and they'll bring their mandolins and guitars and sing some songs for us. Sunday morning is my favorite part of the reunion. Obviously it is my favorite as evidenced by my getting up at 6 a.m. every year to be there for it. The reunion cooks cook chicken fried steaks over an open fire. Man, there is nothing like it. Add to that scrambled eggs and real gravy chock full of bits of steak. God, I'm salivating right now. Coffee cooking over a fire in a big cauldron. That is a family breakfast. The Sunday noon meal is supposed to be the big attraction but I prefer the breakfast. Sunday's lunch is barbequed brisket, cooked right there on the grounds, plus every kind of pie and dessert and side dish you can imagine. It is a little less enjoyable since the sun is climbing high in the sky by lunchtime. In the heart of Texas in the middle of August in the middle of the day. We always steel ourselves to the heat by recalling our grandparents and great-grandparents and great-great-grandparents and yes, our great-great-great-grandparents that began this whole thing. We have pictures of them on these same grounds under these same trees with the long sleeves, the long heavy dark skirts and even jackets. Must have had some sort of heavy duty anti-overheat fluid running through their veins.
I wish more of my family would be there with me. I haven't missed a reunion in about 15 years (I think). I used to beat the drum and try to get relatives there. I've learned it's just one of those things that people do if they feel the need and don't if they don't. I don't even ask anyone if they are going anymore. If they are there I will see them. I mostly go to see the more distant relatives that are only known to me because of the reunion. There are some very nice people there. There are also some real jerks that I will avoid this weekend as usual.
I'm sure I'll be appointed to a committee again this year. They always want one from each branch of the family. I'm the only "young" one from our branch that is there regularly. I reluctantly took the job last year and the President of the reunion hasn't done a thing all year long so it turned out to be an easy committe position. He irritates me in that he has all these wild ideas but no follow through. He's also one of the "oh, the reunion is going to disappear if we don't work and keep people coming, oh woe" guys. I prefer the "isn't this a wonderful reunion, let's just keep doing our best and it will last as long as we can keep it fun" kind of people.
Oh well, another subject. I went down to the Capitol tonight. The symphony was playing on the steps and it was very pleasant. I just needed a break and walked up there for two songs and then came back to work. It really would have been fun to be there with Mark or friends and a blanket and a picnic.
Went to Jovita's last night for Cornell Hurd. Fun time. Danced twice. Once with a stranger that knew how to ask women to dance! He came up to me and my friend and asked me to dance. None of that "would one of yall like to dance?" nonsense. Also smart to dance with the lesser beauty first. He was a very good dancer. Also two stepped with a friend and he was a good dancer and that was fun.
I'd better get to packing. It's a long road to Comanche.