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Good afternoon All...I sure am the late one, but having intestinal problems, or the galloping sh!ts, as my old dad would call em....If I coulda moved my computer into the bathroom, I surely would have been online sooner....ah, well, this too, shall soon pass...

The weather here is lovely as can be...warmish, sunny, mountains on view, that autumn snap in the air, fall mums in full bloom...its a lovely time of year...

AC....loved all those pics from your family reunion...I think that the mens table looks quite interesting....

BigDom is now eating his dinner...when I feel lousy like this, hes lucky to get anything at all...made him his big salad, but was not about to attempt cooking anything elaborate...instead, TV dinners, kept on hand for emergencies, sufficed to satisfy his appetite...

We just got a hoard of pictures from my husbands best friend back in Chicago, pictures from my husbands trip back there over the Memorial Holiday.....they were sure great to see, seeing old friends, seeing the pics of the homes we lived in those many years ago...

There was also another Freepers pic in there...Mr_Magoo...Mr_Magoo lives in the Chicago area, and he and I were chatting...I had said to him, that BigDom was trying to find Al Capones grave, and altho he had the right cemetary, he could not find the grave..Mr_Magoo, noted that if one does not know exactly where the grave is, you will not find it, as it is hidden by a large overgrown bush...so Mr_Magoo had told me, that when BigDom came back to Chicago, he should call, and Magoo would escort BigDom and his friend to the grave...

And that indeed did happen...Mr_Magoo met up with Bigdom and his best friend, and showed them where the grave was, to BigDoms delight...And they took a pic of Mr_Magoo and his car, so it was great to see a pic of a fellow freeper helping the hubby of a Freeper...

Curiously enough along with the arrival of the pics from Memorial Day, was an invitation to the annual Labor Day Picnic, held by this same group of friends, in Chicago...we always get our invite, tho we never go...BigDom attends some of the Memorial Day picnics, but going from Olympia Wash, to Chicago, just for a picnic, is a stretch...

In any case, there is always a definite part of both the Memorial Day picnics, and the Labor Day picnics, where the group hoists a cheer and a drink to those of the group who have passed on...and of course the invitation mentions this as part of the festivities, with the explanation that this is not a downer type of message, but rather a message encouraging one and all to attend, to enjoy each day that we have...

BigDom and I were reflecting that 30yrs ago, when we were all young and attending these picnics(which have actually been going on annually for more than 35yr with just a bunch of young guys), the group was constantly growing with the addition of wives, and new babies always on the way...

Those picnics were joyous occasions with young couples, new babies, older children, and we were all quite young and just venturing out in life...

Now, these many years later, things have progressed....divorces, remarriages, children growing up, and going off on their own...and then some of the group passing on....as the years go along, the group will grow smaller, more will be added to the list of those who have passed on...

I look at group photos of all the guys, 20 and 30 yrs ago...group photos are taken at each and every picnic...then I ponder the group pics that we just viewed today..the guys, are older, balder, greyer, heavier, more eyesight and hearing imparied, the natural forces of time and age being apparent...

But still they vow, they will keep attending these picnics until the very last one of them is dead and gone...I can just see these picnics 20 or 25 yrs from now...the few that will be left, will be hoisting a few to the greater number that have passed on...those who will be attending will probably have their canes, their walkers, their depends, their personal nurses....BigDom will no doubt be hooked up to an IV bottle full of beer...

But they will go on, till they do it no longer....

And when they are all gone, those woods, will still retain the soul and spirit of these guys, who went through life, beginning as small childhood friends, and ending up as old men, still great friends...

They may be gone, but I bet on a quiet dark night in those woods, if one listens intently, one may still hear the faint sounds of these picnics..the sounds of guys playing football, the sounds of politics and religion being debated, the sounds of the children playing, the sweet sounds of babies, crying and cooing, and sounds of the ladies, gossipping and cooking and most of all, the sounds of everyone gathered together, as a prayer is given for the meal, and everyone rushes to stuff themself...

My thoughts for the day...