Family Reunion

So, I just got back yesterday from attending my annual family reunion, and it was awesome. I won't tell you exactly where it was because we do it every year about the same time, and for the last three years it's been in the same place. Let's just say it's a beautiful spot in another state, surrounded by lakes and forests and fairly high up in the hills. Anyway, it was quite an eventful trip. The first night we were there, having all gathered in the big dining room at the hotel, one of my relatives was surprised to be recognized as guest-of-honor because he was on the verge of retiring. There was a slide show featuring images of him, including his service in Vietnam, where he served as a door gunner on a rescue chopper. I'm not kidding--he was basically the guy who provided cover fire for the soldiers returning to the helicopters, which made him a central target for enemy snipers.

The next day several relatives went out to a spot that was famous (or rather infamous) for cliff-jumping. I didn't go but heard the stories later. There were three different levels--a 10 foot level, a 25 foot level and a 40 foot level, the highest and most dangerous. One teen girl in my family took a dive off the 25 footer and hit her face on some rocks in shallow water. She was extremely lucky; she could've broken her neck, or even severely messed up her face. She did go to the hospital, but she was fine. Another girl slipped and bruised up the back of her legs and behind. You'd think this would've taught them all a lesson, but no, the next day several of them went back for more, including a 17-year-old girl that I am fairly close to and have known since she was very little. If you picture Shirley Temple with dark brown eyes and dark brown hair you will have some idea of what she looked like as a child. In a word: adorable. She's still extremely attractive, I think, with a cute button nose and heart-shaped face. Anyway, she fell on a slippery rock and skinned up her arm and elbow. Again, it could've been a lot worse. I hope these three injuries in two days will dissuade any future adventures.

That same day one of my first cousins, who has three girls and lives very close to me, lost his middle daughter, who is 5. They were going swimming and she got ahead of everyone and then just seemed to disappear. Of course, everyone was frantic until she was found, including yours truly. You have no idea how scary it is to lose track a child in a place like that, which was huge and full of people, not all of whom were relatives. I have even more sympathy now with parents whose children are snatched than I did before; it is an awful experience, even though I wasn't even the girl's parent! Anyway, she had wandered off with another relative as it turned out, an older girl, but no one knew that until she was found some fifteen to twenty minutes later. We had the place on lock-down and all the hotel staff were looking for her. Of course, she was punished, but later the girls went swimming and so did I and several of my cousins, including the afore-mentioned 17-year-old. We had a blast!