The Family Reunion

Let me tell you about the Lewis family reunion.  (my mothers maiden name was Lewis).  From the time I was about seven or eight years old until I went away to the University, I attended the Lewis family reunion..  These were exciting events in my life.

The extended Lewis family was composed of two groups:  The religious and the non-religious. The religious attended church on a regular basis and did not drink alcoholic drinks or coffee.  The non-religious attended church as seldom as possible and lived on coffee and drank any alcoholic beverage that was available.  The family was about equally divided into these two groups.

Planning for the reunion started in January of each year.  Every time some of the family got together, a debate would invariably start as to whether the reunion should be held on Friday and Saturday vs. Saturday and Sunday.  The religious wanted the reunion held on Friday and Saturday so they could be home and attend church on Sunday.  The less religious wanted the reunion held on Saturday and Sunday so they wouldn't be tempted to attend Church.  These were lively debates and neither group ever won.  The site of the reunion was usually some campground located in the Ashley National Forest.

When the reunion week-end finally arrived, the religious generally arrived at the reunion site early on Friday.  The less religious arrived a day latter on Saturday.  When the less religious group arrived they would go a very short distance away from the cooking fire that was already burning and start their own fire.  They had a huge coffee pot and would immediately start to brew their coffee. When it was done, they would sip the coffee, all the while saying, umm, umm, umm, isn't this coffee delicious.  They said this just loud enough to be heard by everyone.  The religious wanted to kill them.  I loved it!

Each year a different master of ceremonies was selected.  One year my uncle Charlie was chosen for this position.  He started the meeting by telling a dirty joke.  All the less religious slapped their legs and hee-hawed and rolled on the ground in great humor.  The religious scowled and didn't crack a smile.  I was sitting on a log next to my mother.  I looked over at her and if looks could kill, Charlie would have been dead at that moment.  She had the meanest look on her face I had ever seen.  I wanted to laugh at the joke, but I didn't dare.

In between these shenanigans, every one had a great time eating, telling yarns,  talking about ancestors, teasing each other and playing games.  After the reunion was over, they all left with good feelings for one another and anxious for next January to arrive so they could start the process all over again.