July 19 - Great Eastern Tour Day 3

Miles travelled: 97
Relatives met: 2
Chicken legs: 1

8:28 a.m. - Boys leave for golf. Better them than me, as I still feel golf is a waste of a good walk (though none of them are actually walking as the yellow brother requires a golf cart). Roll over and try to sleep again until the house phone rings and I leap up thinking it is my phone alarm. Once standing there is really no point in going back to bed. Have Peanut Butter Captain Crunch for breakfast. It has been too many years since I enjoyed such a sugar-filled, health-free first meal of the day. Discuss for the umpteenth time why grandma makes the family crazy and why she is the way she is. Don't understand why the family can't accept that she will always complain and nothing will ever be exactly as she wants it. She's 85 and she's never going to change - why do we keep having this conversation every year? Try to impart my viewpoint, which doesn't matter much since I am not a family elder and really not responsible for her. However, I also happen to be the golden child and therefore only one Grandma listens to. Thus am stuck having an opinion no one will really pay attention to, while at the same time being begged to talk Grandma into whatever family elders think is best. Conversation ends in same stale-mate, lack of solution as always.

9:57 a.m. - Vow to never live in a home with well water that requires a water softener. Tired of showering and feeling slimy.

11:45 a.m. - Leave with Mom for Knox, her hometown. Try to figure out familial relation to the people we will be visiting. Mom's family has always been elusive and is not often discussed. Excited by the prospect of meeting more family, even if they are only distant relatives who have no real interest in seeing me. It will be nice to put faces to names, and the trip is important for Mom. Glad she asked me to come along.

11:40 a.m - Arrive at mom's cousin's house. The great state of Indiana has 2 time zones, so by travelling 45 miles west we've also gone back in time an hour. Cousin does not look like anyone I've seen in photos, and I wonder if there are any of her in our house. For being 3 years older than Mom, she looks significantly older - maybe that has something to do with her 12 grandchildren. Listen intently for awhile as they discuss family matters and current happenings. Start to zone out when old friends and places are discussed. Not very interested in who Bob Carlisle remarried since I've never met him. Get sucked into an episode of Crossing Jordan on TV. Briefly pulled back to reality to explain my work situation and school, as cousin works in a school that just suffered budget cuts. Explain that while the teachers get paid a pittance, we have decently good funding for school things. Back to the psychopath on Crossing Jordan. Very cool show; not that I have time to watch it more often than summer reruns.

1:08 p.m. - Follow directions from cousin to arrive at mom's aunt's assisted living apartment. Stand at doorway for 2 minutes before realizing that aunt is waving us in. Greetings ensue, followed by mom standing next to me saying, "can you tell she's mine?"
"Oh yes, and her brother looks like your uncle. He's a Smith."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I saw pictures and thought 'that boys a Smith.' He looks just like your uncle."
"Well, he doesn't look as much like Mom as I do, so that will make him happy." I have no idea if brother will be pleased or even care about this information, but feel the need to support this sharp woman in the red polka dot dress. Learn a lot about the family and Mom as they reminisce and tell stories of the past. Feel slightly jealous of Mom growing up with her aunt, cousins, grandmother, great-great-grandfather and great-great-aunt all on the same block. Wish this great-aunt of mine lived closer, as I enjoy her thoroughly. It is time to leave when topics of conversation are running out and my stomach is rumbling like a timpani drum. Make a mental note to ask Mom for a copy of the picture I took of her and the aunt.

2:40 p.m. - Introduce Mom to the Taco Bell spicy chicken crunchwrap supreme. It is delicious, though I fear it will mess with my fried chicken appetite.

3:15 p.m. - Stop at Mom's high school friend's house, but no one is home. A tad bit disappointed - I'm sure she would have told me some great stories of Mom as a teen. The best stories are those of one's parents as children.

5:45 p.m. - Sit down to a meal of grandma's fried chicken. Now that I've seen it done, I'm semi-confident I can replicate the process in my own kitchen. Silently lament the absense of corn on the cob and my inability to eat more than one chicken leg. They are the largest chicken legs I've ever seen. Grandma is insistent upon knowing if the her sons bought Purdue or Tyson chicken, since she knows they always liked Purdue better as kids. Facial expressions indicate neither has any clue, nor do they understand why it matters. One says Tyson while the other says Purdue. Grandma's poor hearing keeps her from comprehending either reply, and finally the satisfactory answer of Purdue chicken is given. Play several games of Euchre after dinner. Mom begrudginly plays 1 game, while Dad coaches from the side, then Dad takes over for game 2. Baby brother and I lose first game but capture a win in the second. Loss is blamed on my refraining from calling a loner while holding the ace, king, jack and 10 of trump and an off-suit ace. It's a team sport, I don't want to leave my partner out. Euchre is left for chocolate cream pie and the never ending battle of watching the Cubs game or the White Sox game. Neither team plays well.