[speaker002:] okay have you ever
[speaker001:] your family have reunions on any regular basis
[speaker002:] probably once every five years
[speaker001:] once every five years
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] yeah um you have a pretty big family
[speaker002:] yeah and the hardest part about getting the family the stuff together is everyone's spread out all over Timbuktu
[speaker001:] oh yeah
[speaker002:] and you
[speaker001:] yeah we've got a pretty big family but most of us live well I'm well I'm originally from West Virginia
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] most of the family is right in the West Virginia area uh what they call the Tristate area uh northern West Virginia Eastern Ohio and Southwestern Southwestern Pennsylvania
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] most everybody is right in that area
[speaker002:] that makes it a lot easier a lot more convenient that's why we only do it once every five or ten years because it's like that hard to get everyone together
[speaker001:] yeah yeah they put one together for our family about once every June it was on my grandmother's birthday but she's she's gone now
[speaker002:] yeah see that's kind of what happened with ours that's why we hadn't had one in a long time
[speaker001:] yeah um
[speaker002:] so so to make one successful what I mean what do y'all do do y'all just start planning real far ahead of time
[speaker001:] oh shoot pardon
[speaker002:] do you um do y'all start planning real far ahead of time
[speaker001:] well no there's kind of a set pattern to it there's uh so the day it happens is ninety eight percent of the planning usually
[speaker002:] oh really
[speaker001:] yeah oh the we get together at the the uh the park uh the uh park and playground area of the church I was raised in
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] and uh everybody brings lots of food and we'll put up a volleyball net just sit around and tell stories and catch up and play volleyball all day and get really fat
[speaker002:] eat a lot see it's a lot harder for us because we're like I say we're spread out so they have to plan anywhere from six well really probably a year ahead of time so everyone can say um
[speaker001:] oh goodness yeah scheduled vacation time
[speaker002:] their their vacation time
[speaker001:] yeah we usually just Saturday Saturday uh Sunday afternoon
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] or maybe sometimes it's been like on Saturday afternoon usually it's like Sunday afternoon and most people don't have more than you know a couple hours drive tops to get there and back
[speaker002:] yeah now is that where you're I mean is
[speaker001:] well where I'm calling from is southern Mississippi so we got a ways uh uh my wife and I have a bit longer ways to go than most
[speaker002:] but y'all still manage to make them
[speaker001:] uh actually we've only made one of them since we got married about four years ago one of the family reunions but we're both in school so it makes it kind of tough
[speaker002:] yeah yeah
[speaker001:] they usually they been happening um just after the summer semester starts
[speaker002:] you can't really get away
[speaker001:] so usually not we managed to get to one that was before I started to school and she took that summer off but uh
[speaker002:] well now that we've been talking about it I'm gonna I'm kind of getting home sick now because it's been over three years since I've been home
[speaker001:] oh  yeah oh goodness
[speaker002:] to see my grandparents or well my my grandfather's the only one that's still around
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] and see my grandmother was the one that used to plan the stuff basically
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] so unless the aunts and uncles really get on the ball and put stuff together it's kind of like she was like the glue so
[speaker001:] yeah I understand where is home for you
[speaker002:] originally um I was born in Missouri
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] so and you know we have relatives scattered out all over Louisiana Mississippi um here in Texas so it's harder for everyone to get in get home
[speaker001:] yeah yeah well maybe this year you can find a more central location
[speaker002:] now well but see the majority of them are in like just like how you said in close close quarters so it's easier for us few stragglers to go home
[speaker001:] oh okay okay the majority of them are still in the Missouri area
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] okay yeah our family right now or most there's there's there's only like few stragglers uh if any with any distance yeah some of us there's one cousin uh in Colorado and uh some cousins over in Phoenix uh I got a sister over in in uh Washington state
[speaker002:] well
[speaker001:] uh rest of them are within you know a couple hours drive
[speaker002:] well um how do y'all communicate like to plan it and everything do y'all just call each other up on the phone and say this is the weekend we're gonna do it or do y'all like mail out stuff
[speaker001:] that's pretty much it yeah okay it's gonna be such and such a weekend and uh y'all come that's about it
[speaker002:] yeah
[speaker001:] I mean you know this is the standard pattern is the everybody brings their their favorite dish and somebody brings the volleyball net somebody brings a whole lot of ice for the watermelon and
[speaker002:] well um I guess probably the last one I went to I met so many people that I hadn't seen in probably ten over ten years it was like don't you remember me and I'm like no
[speaker001:] am I related to you yeah I married your cousin's brother's uncle uh something like that
[speaker002:] yeah I know  do you I mean is that since you I mean do you have them every year
[speaker001:] uh yeah they're every year and and still you wind up meeting people you you you never knew you were related to let alone
[speaker002:] well see it's probably not that yeah
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] well I think that's probably why our's always so interesting is because we don't have them that often and then when we do
[speaker001:] yeah
[speaker002:] and everyone does finally get together it's like after the you know the just like
[speaker001:] down right amazing isn't it
[speaker002:] yeah