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The End

We all posed for the obligatory pictures to record the event, you know the drill Sons all here, Cousins all here, Everyone over here,do you know how to set the timer on the camera. It is a part of what you sign up for when you fly or drive to a holiday so suck it up and here you go.

Dinner

It started like many Thanksgiving dinners before, a mad rush to assemble the food at the same time. Place it on the table in a presentable manner and herd the humans to the table all at once ,hopefully. Grace was said by Gregg and we all began to dig into the food. It was a normal meal when about 10 minutes into it an envelope was being passed under the table to me I was told to hand it to Rene'. I looked at it a second and hesitated, it looked important like a bill or something with dire implication. I passed it anyway. I watched as Rene' read it and then began to cry, no one knew what was up. Then Rene' shouted that Zack had been given a full ride to the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. The tears spread first to Eric, then Mom and Dad and everyone else. The young man had known for a while but told no one but his cousin Ian. The two of them had kept a secret. When the letter was passed around the table it acquired a huge amount of grease and gravy on it's edges, I read it and it stated the obivious Dear Zack we are happy to iform you that you have been accepted to: yady yady, but the thing that made me gasp was the amount the scholarship was worth $403,000 it includes a living stipend. Wow this is all this kid ever dreamed of and here we are honored to see it come to fruition. What a Thanksgiving!

Pre Dinner

Zoey had waited long enough. Sh wanted to eat and took a station at the head of the table. Determined she listened to Woody Woodpecker songs on her Ipod and would settle for nothing less than a piece of turkey on her plate.

Conversations

It was a time to meet people I had never met, catch up on topical info on people's lives and to renew a commitments to each other as siblings, son's and parents. Some talked of deep feelings, some joked, some cried and others sat and watched to events unfold. It was a low key time with everyone helping out, caring and hugging. It was a good experience.

Bop

The last person to arrive was Eric the baby of the family. He is currently in San Antonio working on his Masters degree. He hopes to pursue a career as a Physicians Assistant. School has kept him apart from his family and he was happy to see his wife Rene' and youngest son Zack .

The Smiling Smeller and Zoey

Gregg and Zoey drove from Ohio after Gregg got back from his project in Washington D.C. It must have been grueling driving that far. He has recovered wonderfully from his work injury. Zoey is a very interesting little girl. She can hold her own in a room full of people who are always kidding her. She throws it right back and never backs down. I was impressed. Just watching her one night kicking Zack and Ian's butts at Uno, her laughter was infectious

Tulsa Time

The next crew to arrive was the Tulsa tribe. Dave and his daughter Kierstan drove from the Oklahoma plains where the wind comes right behind the rain. They too stopped to repose and came in the door in great shape. Dave buys cars for a dealership and borrowed a Caddy for the drive. We had never met Kierstan and she was a beautiful young lady with an aura of gentleness that filled the room wherever she was. Dave was still the soulful one always soothing people with his gentle calm whenever he stood in a conversation.

Rene' & Zack

The brothers and siblings trickled in to the Sparta area we arrived first. The next team to arrive was Rene' and Zack. They came from North Carolina and had the sense to stop and rest on the drive over the mountains. I hadn't seen the two of them in four years. Zack had grown about 3 feet and Rene' was so thin she looked like she was 22 years old again. It was nice to sit down and talk to Zack. He was finishing his pilot training at 17 years old he only had a few more hours to go to solo out. He is a very affable young man. Puts you at ease right away. I could see that Zack and Ian connected and that was good because everyone else was old and at least they could relate to each other.

Airport

Arrival

Lisa, Ian and Mick left our Northwest location to fly to Nashville on 11/24/08 at 10:10 pm and 11:55 pm. Lisa had to travel on a different airline because when we booked she did not know if she could get the time off work from the Governor's Mansion. We traveled at night because Ian had to work late at Stumptown Coffee in Portland. Innocents all we left our car at a sketchy long term parking lot that was dimly lit and in an old hotel that probably rents by the 1/2 hour. Our driver was very affable and his name was Juan. He drove us to the terminal and we were off. Check in was not that bad I only had to be pulled aside for the Cajun Spice I had in my backpack for the Steel head fish we checked for the family. The gentleman asked me what it was for? I said it made fish taste very good and he jokingly said he had to keep it then. I'm glad my feet didn't stink. We took our flights on old Northwest Airlines planes that looked of WWII vintage. The seats were so close and legroom so sparse I hope they master frozen Stasis soon so it is less painful. We arrived in Nashville around 9:00 in the morning tired and sore. I t felt much like one feels after a bad acid trip in the 70's. Everything was ok after we found Ronnie Nelson smiling at the outside of the security perimeter. He hugged us and was so genuinely happy to see us all, that the world made sense again. Now if we could get him to not talk or point out sights we might make the hour and a half drive to Sparta alive. We did. The only problem with going to my mother's house is she never has anything to eat. I usually take a survival tool so I can trap a rodent or dig some roots. This time due to Airline regulations all I had were a set of toenail clippers. Not very intimidating to a full grown Raccoon or Rat. Surprisingly my Mother did have food. In fact I said a prayer hoping there wasosome left for other people in the country because she had amassed an arsenal of food the size of the stores in the Bunkers at the White House.

Thanksgiving

Ron and Dee Dee Anderson hosted their traditional Thanksgiving Dinner for 2008. A rare event ensued 4 of the 5 sons they raised arrived at their home in Sparta Tenn. at the same time to participate in the celebration. Some of the names have been changed to protect the innocent.