Old Family, Old Friends, and Some Fireworks

This weekend has been quite a busy, and interesting one.

On Saturday I went to my family reunion. I have to preface this by saying I come from quite a large extended family. There were probably about 100 people at the reunion, and that is about half of what we normally have had in the past. There has been quite a bit of illness in our family in the past couple of years. Last year’s reunion was cancelled because the patriarch of our family, my uncle Robert, was seriously ill. He has recovered and made sure to bring the reunion back this year.

When we all gathered for dinner, my uncle Robert began his speech by saying we would begin having the reunions on a different Saturday from now on since it always conincides with opening day for the UT Vols. (As I have mentioned before, my family’s blood runneth Volunteer Orange!) There was a great deal of applause at that announcement, especially all of us wearing orange shirts.

Next came the traditional blessing, given by my uncle Robert’s pastor. He really has become more like a member of the family, so the pastor stays around and eats with us. Got to love the Southern Baptist preachers. The can eat, socialize, and offer you blessings all at the same time.

There were some missing members of my family at the reunion, which did put a damper on my spirits a bit. My cousin Paul, who is serving in Iraq, and his family were not there. Only 2 of my 9 nieces and nephews were there. They are the highlight of my time there. And, most missed is my grandmother. I did take about half an hour out of the reunion to drive up to the cemetary to visit with my grandmother. He burial site is in an incredibly beautiful location…on top of a hill and right on the bend of the river. I sat next to her grave and talked for about 10 minutes or so and then just closed my eyes to just listen. It was extremely peaceful, and I she a tear or two. I miss that woman!

Getting back to the reunion, it was interesting to see my cousin Kelly there. She was obviously uncomfortable at the reunion. She has 4 bi-racial children. She brought two of her sons with her to the reunion. She commented to me that she did not like the looks she was getting towards her and her bi-racial kids. I simply reminded her that we are from and very Southern, uber-right winged, conservative, Republican, and sometimes redneck family. I told her not to give it a second thought. I love her kids. They are a barrel of fun to be around.

To add to the drama, my sister decided to show up. Personally, I think it was because the food was good and free. She definitely stuck out in the crowd. She arrived in a halter top that was obviously not designed to hold her check in place. Yes, this means no bra to hold the girls in or up either. I know she wore the top so she could show off her tattoos…the set of stars shooting across the top of her breasts and the set of angel wings on her back. Did I mention the gothic black dyed hair? Oh, and then there was the lip, tounge, and nose piercings.

Now, I am all for freedom of expression, but this is crazy. The looks were plenty and all coming towards her. She doesn’t care what anybody thinks. Given my current frustration with my sister, I had to bite my tounge hard not to say anything negative to her. (Not about her appearance, but about her behavior of late.)

Moving on. On Sunday, I met up with some old friends from high school. We all met to attend the Labor Day weekend fireworks show. The celebration is called Boomsday, and it has been given the designation as one of the best fireworks shows in the country. I would have to agree with that statement. The fireworks were awesome (see below for a few pics), and the company was awesome too. My only complaint about the fireworks show is that there was not enough wind to blow the compunding smoke away. By the time the finale hit, we could not see many of the fireworks going off, but we could sure hear them.

All in all, it was a pretty good weekend. It was nice to relax. Of couse, now I am spending my Labor Day doing work. I am writing lesson plans, grading papers, printing progress reports, etc. School life goes on!

Hope everyone had a great weekend.
- J.

Advertisement