From this morning's email from R., who listens to NPR at work: "Bush was just talking about Peter Jennings. I get the idea that he didn't know who Jennings was. His touching eulogy was basically 'Peter Jennings was a news dude who like, reported on a bunch of stuff. Totally important stuff.'"
We got back from his family reunion in Utah late-ish last night. I had already met the parents, but this was the first time I'd met any of the eight siblings (only one of them couldn't make it), plus spouses and most of the assorted nieces and nephews. I had a really great time, which didn't surprise me all that much. All of R's siblings are basically a lot like him, which is to say, awesome.
Also, Utah? Really pretty. Even though I had driven through it before, I had somehow pegged it in my mind as being all dry and deserty and even kind of flat, like Arizona, which is a look I'm not really into. But in fact this is not the case at all, at least for the Salt Lake/Provo area. The reunion was in a beautiful valley just a few miles from his parents' house, with mountains all around and a creek running right by our pavilion.
The small army of little girls in attendance explored the creek area and showed us several "chambers" in the underbrush ("This one is the chamber of fire!"), and the two eldest nieces (ages ten and twelve) later got involved in a lengthy water balloon war with R and his brother. From a kid's perspective R was the perfect target because he would chase the girls around a bit, but he really didn't want to get wet. Ideally, you want the adult to be willing to play, but sorry to lose.
I had a long conversation about books with his 12-year-old niece. R told me that when I stepped away she said, "Are you going to marry her? I hope you do."
Also, this is my second-to-last day at the Airplane Library. Can I get a "Sweet, bro!" from all the frat boys in the house? Thank you.
Also, living in sin is pretty fantastic.
Sandyism of the day:
Give me a sense of humor, Lord
Give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some humor out of life,
And pass it on to other folk.
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