1991

Family Reunion

Mom in the kitchen

Sunday

I wake up just after seven, I had slept pretty well although with strange dreams about events as a boy in the house.  I put on some clothes and follow the smell of fresh coffee to the kitchen where I find Dad.  Just like every school day when I was in high school; Dad had been up for a while and when I showed up and would be sitting at the kitchen table in his plaid flannel house coat reading the Gainesville Sun with a cup of coffee in his hand.  I say good morning, Dad lower’s his paper and looking over the top, says good morning back and with a tip of his coffee cup towards the stove, he says, “There’s some bacon on the stove, and some eggs in the frige if you want them.”  I see on the table in front of him a plate with the remains of what appeared to have been his usual breakfast, a couple of fried eggs, bacon, and toast.  In high school Dad would make breakfast for me, now that I’m older and he’s retired I have to make it myself.  Well, he did leave a couple pieces of bacon.  I say “Thanks, I think I’ll just have a muffin.”, as I spy a package of Thomas English muffins on the counter.  After finding everything was where it always had been, I get a knife and a plate, split a muffin, and put it in the toaster oven then turn on the heat for the pot of water on the stove.  I head to what I know will be a well-stocked refrigerator, get some orange juice, after looking over a selection of jellies, choose Dad’s homemade raspberry, and put it on the counter when the toaster oven chimes.  Water is boiling, I grab teacup from the cabinet, put in tea bag that I had brought with me (Twining’s Irish Breakfast), put jelly on my muffin, grab those two pieces of bacon, and sit down across the table from Dad.  He’s reading the sports section, it’s always the last section he reads which can take him some time, particularly in football season.

The other sections of The Gainesville Sun are scattered across the table with the advertisements set aside for Mom to go through for coupons. I look for the front page.  This is a routine that started when I was a child, sitting at the table with Dad on Sunday morning reading the paper. Before I could read it was just the comics which were special because they were in color on Sunday.  As I got older, I started with the front page and would save the comics for last.  I seldom read the sports section as Dad would be still reading it.

I read through the front page quickly, it being only a dozen pages long.  I’ve been reading the Washington Post every morning since moving up to Virginia, the entire Sunday Gainesville Sun was smaller than the font section alone of the Post.  Oh well, I read the state, local, and entertainment sections in short order.  Dad, still studying the sports section, hasn’t said a word, which is OK with me, I’m not one much for conversation in the morning. 

There are two things I can always talk to Dad about, the weather and the Gators.  The weather was always a safe subject, hot, cold, rain, no rain, too much rain, too little rain, how is there. A predictable and safe subject that we both could talk about, common ground. Any phone call with Mom or Dad, well actually, probably any member of the family, would have a conversation about the weather. I could be on to something thing here, if we only talked about the weather with others there would be peace in the world. Yeah, right, I’m done with the paper and go the more difficult path.

Football, or more specifically the Gators, the University of Florida football team, was another subject that Dad could, and would, always talk about.  At this time Dad had been going to Gator football games for forty years, I grew up with Dad listening, watching, or going to the games.  I finish my muffin and say, “Are the Gators going to be any good this year?”   Dad lowers his paper and looks at me for a second and with reserved enthusiasm says, “I sure think so, with Spurrier back and we got a pretty good quarterback.”  Yes, Steve Spurrier was back as head coach, the same Steve Spurrier who was quarterback for the Gators whose games I sold Coca-Cola at back when he won the Heisman Trophy back in 1966.  Dad went on about this player, that player, a good receiver, which were seniors, which were freshman. I listen with an occasional grunt or, “That sounds good.”, I sat there half listing as memories of times past flashed though my mind, memories of Dad, football games, the excitement of it all, going to the games, sitting here at the table talking about it over the paper in the morning. 

Mom, who always slept a little later so Dad particularly now that they had retired, walked into the kitchen and brought me back to the moment.  Mom said good morning, putting her hand on my shoulder as she walked by to make a cup of coffee and puts an English muffin in the toaster. After a minute the toaster dings, mom puts some jelly on it, and sits at the table grabbing the stack of advertisements.  Mom, looking through the ads, setting an occasional one aside, says, “We decided not to go to church today, we have a lot to do for the reunion.”  I internally sigh with relief for I didn’t care much for going to church which I had given up years ago but I always went I came home to visit Mom and Dad. It was hard to avoid when I visited during the thanksgiving and Christmas holidays but there was no special service at church for Labor Day. “Plus, we will see everybody tomorrow.”, she adds meaning all the relatives that go to the same church would be at the reunion.

After breakfast we Dad and I retreated to the family room where Dad turned on the TV which pretty  much remained on all day when they were home.  I had brought a book with me for such occasions which I read half listening to the TV and an occasional comment from Dad. Mom remained in the kitchen preparing some dish or another for the reunion. Mid-morning Dad says he’s going out to Grandma Mixson’s (his mother) and asks if I want to go with him.  "Sure", I say, and we both go to the bedroom to change. 

Lunch with Grandma