Sunday, July 27, 2008

The Family Of Huggable People...

My Mom and Baby Sis are off to Georgetown, Texas this weekend for a family reunion. Actually, I should say THE Reunion. As far back as I can remember, that's how we always referred to it...THE Reunion! They are meeting Big Sis who is already there from North Carolina. Relatives come from all over to get together for this big family get-together. I am not going for several reasons, but I will be there in spirit .

Georgetown has been the home of The Reunion as long as I can recall and I remember it very fondly, but the town I remember is not the same today as the town I see in my memories. That is one of the reasons I won't be there.

Gone are the old wagon crossings that made great swimming holes and fishing spots, covered with a man made lake. Gone is the glorious spot by the dam in the city park where many a child learned to swim , where couples held hands as they walked carefully across the water swept stones and where countless hours were spent by the young and the young at heart in the wonderful art of fishing for fishing's sake. All done in by the careless acts of land grabbers and profit seekers that somehow are allowed to poison both the environment of today and the memories of yesterday .

Unless action is taken soon, all the small towns across our once great and beautiful country will suffer the same fate. The remaining grass in the parks where picnics used be held by families on Sunday and reunion memories were started and shared by generations will instead be landscaped by signs that read "No Walking On The Grass" and the park benches that used to be for the use of old men and young couples will be empty because of the signs that read " No Loitering" and the drugstore counter where you could sit for a couple of hours and talk will have been replaced by coffee shops with no redeeming character, signs hanging on the wall that say "Seating Limited To One Hour".

For now, I'll be content remembering all the cousins and aunts and uncles the way they have always been...huggable. I'm fortunate that most all my relatives are huggable and that for me, makes for a lot of good memories. I've never been to a family function of any kind where hugs were not a part of the whole process. Hugs are a natural human reaction to other people. Happy hugs, comforting hugs, friendly hugs, loving hugs, hugs from children and, of course, virtual hugs from all our virtual friends!

So let's all do our share to make today a better day by sharing a smile, holding somebody's hand and let's all give each other a big hug! Now...how about a fresh cup of coffee ?

8 comments:

blondie said...

Looks like I'm the first to give you that Great Big HUG today :)
Ummm ummm good, lol

Thanks for the coffee,
blondie :))

HermitJim said...

Hey Blondie...how did I know that you would be the first to give me a hug this morning? And I'll take it, of course!!

Holding hands and hugs...two of life's best gifts, don't you think?

Hey, thanks for stopping by. You know it's appreciated a lot!!

See ya...

Noki said...

Someone needs a hug!

HermitJim said...

Hey Ashley...thanks for coming by. Hugs are always free at the Hermit's. Heck, we give 'em to folks that don't even need 'em! Can't ever have too many, I'm thinking!

see ya
Dad

Anonymous said...

Hermitjim - had a wonderful time with my granddaugher last night when we had a sleepover at my place. We say our prayers for everyone and have some excellent good night hugs.
Then this am the family decided to go to one of the nearby lakes - so we got ready and were all excited to go. We had a wonderful day - as did others as lots of families were out getting away from the city.
Suddenly a wind storm came up and we had to scat off the beach for safety. On the way home there was a lot of lightning and heavy rain.
So upon leaving their place I gave them all big hugs - that we we had a nice day and all were home safe and sound. Hugs are so good !!!

HermitJim said...

Hey Myrna...so glad you could drop by. Sounds like you had a wonderful visit and more importantly, gave and recieved a fair amount of hugs. Family is so all important and the memories we make each time we are together are made even dearer, if we remember we may never have that chance again.

I really appreciate you taking time to come by and comment. It means a lot.

Jim

Anonymous said...

Bubba -

Just now reading your blog after returning from G-town. And I'm happy to report that the bridge and dam in the park are still intact, and look pretty much the same! The water on the San Gabriel river was way down, so the shallow side had lots of bare rock visible, but the park is looking better than I've seen it in years. B and I took Kaiya (great-niece at 16) to show her, and talked about the fun times, and she said "Wish WE could do that now! Maybe more kids would come if today were more like the old days." Funny, but sad, huh? Wish I were there for y'all's short visit with B - give big hugs all 'round for me, OK? Love to you!

HermitJim said...

hey Sis...thanks for sharing some of the old times with Kaiya while in G-town. It's hard to make people visualize a place like that, but when they are looking at it and then hear the stories while standing there...it is so much easier.

Even though you can't be here today, I'll save ya a hug or two and some coffee, OK? OK!

Love ya
Bubba