These are my cousins, Robert Allen (don't you just love the southern tradition of using both the first and middle name) and Wayne (right). They came for dinner last Saturday, which isn't unusual--unless you factor in how long it's been since we've seen each other. Last time Robert Allen and I were together was 1973!!!! I had dinner with Wayne in April; but, prior to that, it had been 10 years!!
Somehow, though, family ties make conversation easy. We enjoyed an evening of reminiscing and catching up. They grew up in Mississippi, and I grew up in Texas. Lots of stories about childhood antics. As middle-class families, vacations were primarily trips to see grandparents; so we didn't see each other often. Our two families overlapped at grandma's house only once--for a Christmas gathering. Wayne remembered me scaring him to death with ghost stories about pirates. Totally appropriate for Christmas, right?!
They are working in Utah for a while. Let's hope it isn't another 10 years before we get together again.
