This table is in serious need of dusting. These last few weeks, Ruth and I have been working like fiends trying to do some major work on our house and property in preparation for Ruth's side of our family's 20th family reunion. You wouldn't think it would take a month to get ready for a lunchtime visit... or that we'd only get one-third of what we wset out to do accomplished. This year we had the reunion in Mystic, Connecticut, which is just an hour's drive from our house. It's been all over the country (and once, in Hawaii,) so you might think this would be easier for us. nuh-uh. We were more the hosts than the guests this time around. All the hard work was worth it. Last Thursday, eight family members stopped by for lunch and a leisurely afternoon of enjoying each other's company.
My grandnephew Bakari, who is eight, came reacing across the floor and leapt into the air, clamping his arms and legs around me about half way up my body. I could see we were going to have a lot of fun. I gave him a disc shooter that projects a spinning propeller into the air and we spent a half an hour devising different games with ever-changing rules (usually to Bakari's advantage.) Our nexr dooor neighbor George saw us playing on the side of our house and contributed a couple of balls to toss around. It took about a minute for Bakari to toss it so far over my head that it sailed into Georg'es back yard. We have a prickly hedge between our yards, so it meant walking around the block to get the ball. On the way back, Bakari challenged me to a race. A 74 year old and a geared-up 8 year old? Care to place your bets who won? I don't think I've ran in twenty years and it was a weird experience... like driving a car with no steering wheel. I mean, I didn't actually crash into a tree, but I was using muscles long since gone to sleep. We ended up playing for an hour and I felt pretty good... I was worn out before we started, but I loosened up pretty good for an old man.
    Friday, we drove up to Mystic and met more of the family and had a family dinner that evening. Saturday, the family split up, with the young 'uns heading off to an amusement park and Ruth and I an some of the old codgers spending the day visiting two casinos operated by native Americans (fromerly known as Indians.) We didn't gamble, but enjoyed the stores and a great restaurant, and went to a great museum on Native Americans as Foxwood.
    Sunday morning we had a church service. Our daughter Dee, who is a Baptist minister, did the sermon, other family members did the readings and prayers and I provided the music. After that, we had a final meal together and headed home Sunday afternoon. Yesterday afternoon (Monday,) some of our family from Virginia came to the house and we had another great time. Five days in all.
    Oh yeah, my black raspberries went nuts while we were gone, so I'm having them on cereal in the morning and making black raspberry ice cream sundaes in the evening. Life is good. Hope it is for you, too.