Here are a few snapshots from the most recent family reunion. I thought you all (read "ya'll" here in Oklahoma) might enjoy them:

The three littlest girl cousins had decided that they were best friends after meeting for the first time. So they begged a blanket and pillows from the closest grandma and settled down on the driveway next to the work shop for a slumber party. Emma (an only child) was reluctant to let her toys be played with but quickly realized that she'd lose her best friends if she tried to keep all the good stuff to herself. There they were-Emma, Lanaia, and Ana, ages 4,3 and 2-all stretched out on the hard concrete and in the hot sun, all giggling over Barbies and how many pennies were in Emma's purse. My thoughts were, "I sure hope someone gets a picture of this" but I was too comfy under the blankie with Emma's pillow to get up to see to it.

Later, clouds of testosterone hovered above the same driveway as the most able-bodied of the young male cousins tested their basketball skills against each other. It was the heavy-bodied cousins against the towering giant cousins. Is body slamming part of basketball? From the porch we could watch but not have to smell the action.

The oldest grey heads bowed over the many picture albums telling stories and trying to untangle the lineage for the most recently introduced cousins; the more newly grey trying to keep up with the litany of who's related to whom and how--knowing that we will have to be able to keep it straight for our grandchildren when they ask. (We hope they will ask-already one family of cousins has lost interest-how we miss them.)

The littlest girls are at it again. This time they have found a paint brush. Would they like to paint the shed? Gleeful jumping up and down indicates yes! A quick search locates more paintbrushes and two buckets of 'red paint.' Many minutes of painting ensue; everything within reach gets a coat-the shed, the door, the driveway, the gravel. The grey heads sit on the porch and chuckle. It's not every day that you can make so many people happy with a little food coloring.

We all line up in front of the newly 'painted' shed. The grey heads sit in front (holding the most docile of the infants); their children behind them, their children and grandchildren in yet another line behind everyone. We must squish together in the hot sun to get in the picture. The teenagers are too 'cool' for such drivel; hurry up and get it over with. Aunt Betty's had enough, she heads for the shade when the photographer reaches for the next camera. Mothers hold squirmy infants who don't understand the importance of capturing the family on film. Sadly, the number of grey heads has dwindled. The matriarch is gone, along with her son, my father, since the last reunion two years ago. But, new 'cousins' have married in and they seem eager to get to know the family. Perhaps it's not such a bittersweet reunion after all.

-- Linda Mc (jmcintyre1@mmcable.com), July 05, 2001

Answers

This is great Linda! I am soooo glad to see you and some of the others returning to post here. (I was afraid I had killed the forum with my last clown saga)

My family was never into reunions when I was growing up, just summer trips to the old folk's farms. But my wife's clan is religious about them, and have one for her dad's family as well as one for her mom's.

Keep it up!

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-- Lon Frank (lgal@exp.net), July 06, 2001.

We had our family reunion. There are very few of the eldest elders left. When these elders leave us, the next level of elders may keep up the reunions, but when the level below them takes control it may all fall apart.

Every year my kids beg us to move closer to the cousins their age. Mobility may be the number one reason people lose touch with their extended families.

This year when we forced the youngsters to kiss the old ladies goodbye, the youngsters included me. I am officially an old lady.

-- helen (old@nd.gray), July 06, 2001.

Lon: I'm honored that you approve of my posting! I've enjoyed your sagas, clown or otherwise, though since I don't read everyday sometimes I lose the threads. And new moania! Are you well now? Is your wife still speaking to you? (Are you the 'poor me, I'm sick' sorta guy or the stiff-upper-lip kinda guy?)

helen: You're an old, grey-haired lady?! Are you sure that they didn't include you just to get revenge for your making them kiss all those powdered cheeks?

-- Linda Mc (jmcintyre1@mmcable.com), July 06, 2001.

Helen, when the grown kids start coming up to you and shouting things like, "How are we doing today?", or "My, don't we look pretty this morning?", then you know you're in trouble!

Linda, thanks, I'm feeling a little better today. I had "walking" pneumonia for a week, which turned into laying-on-the-couch-wheezing pneumonia, and has now progressed into the coughing-up-green-stuff pneumonia. After eight days I went to the doc and got some antibiotics, which just made it mad, but now I'll be fishing again real soon. And, yes, I never get sick, but when I do, I'm pretty pitifull. Not that my wife would ever tell you such (sarchasm alert).

(I just know Helen's gonna write back and say, "Well, how are we feeling today?")

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-- Lon Frank (lgal@exp.net), July 06, 2001.

Well, how are we feeling today?

-- helen (kiss@lon.get.better), July 06, 2001.

Helen, it isn't always "mobility". Sometimes you can live two neighborhoods away and you STILL don't want to deal with them because of who/what they are.

Sad, but true; I don't like most of my family on my Dad's side. Pretentious; obnoxious; blah (yet my Dad is one of the sweetest, nicest, most genuine people you'll ever meet). One of my cousins threw herself an engagement party some years ago. She dumped him shortly thereafter. She kept all the presents. Another of my cousins threw a "black and white" wedding (all the guests have to wear black and/or white -- pretentious). She "forgot" to tell my family. JUST my family. What do you think the chances of that happening were? Yeah, that's what WE thought.

On my Mom's side, she only has one brother. His wife's family includes some of the greatest people I've ever known. A cousin of mine got married some years back in Chicopee, Mass. (?!?!we don't know why). Anyway, we were all staying at the same motel and it was an early wedding and an early reception. We got back to the motel, everyone changed, and we had a party in the parking lot. We ordered a dozen pizzas -- to the parking lot. It was a scream. Breakfast the next morning was a horror; EVERYONE was wearing sunglasses and speaking in "hushed tones". Most of us then had to get on planes. Ugh.

In their case, it IS "mobility". We're scattered all over the country -- my one cousin and her husband live in Long Island, NY; her brother and his wife live in Georgia -- these are my two favorites and I never get to see them. They just adopted a beautiful baby girl and who knows how old she be by the time I get to meet her. My Mom and Dad moved to PA. My brother and his wife are in Brooklyn.

-- (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), July 06, 2001.

Of course you realize that "she be" SHOULD HAVE BEEN "she'll be".

Mas cafe', por favor.

-- (PatriciaS@lasvegas.com), July 06, 2001.

"Don't we look mighty handsome today, Mr. Frank?" :-)

Especially since you're feelin' puny . . . "New moania" ain't fun.

Get better fast!

-- Brooke (Happiness@Hill.top), July 06, 2001.

Lon: Ugh! Coughing up green stuff sounds bad but it's definitely the road to improvement. You sound like the stiff-upper-lip kinda guy...you guys don't let on that you don't feel good until you are really sick. One of my sons is like that-told me one day that he didn't feel well, I took him to the dr. and he ended up in the hospital for 8 days with a staph infection!

I wouldn't mind someone saying, "My, don't we look pretty today." I just don't want to hear "Where did you hide your teeth this time?!"

-- Linda Mc (jmcintyre1@mmcable.com), July 06, 2001.

Gayla chuckles as she pours Patricia a steaming cup of coffee. You guys make me laugh! (Except for Lon's green stuff of course.) ;-)

I loved the postcard of the reunion, Linda. Like so many others on this board, you are a wonderful writer. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us. I have a reunion in Oklahoma the first weekend in August. We'll be up around Eufaula. The female first-cousins are having a slumber party that Friday night. I'm really looking forward to it.

Helen, I bet you're not much older than the rest of us. As I recall, Tricia the Canuck is the 'baby' FRLian. I'm 44 years young. :- ) (Well, come to think of it, Six is still a kid!) ;-)

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), July 06, 2001.

Linda, I really enjoyed your tale. Please write some more - I'll bet we'd all have fun reading them.

Gayla, 6 is the youth around here :-) I maintain my age in the early 30's thanks to SOBob's good fairy, but 6 is younger yet, I believe. It's hard to see how an early 30's type can be listed as a grey-head, but I do believe that's what's happening to me :-(

-- Tricia the Canuck (jayles@telusplanet.net), July 06, 2001.