1. Terry, Nancy, Ed, Jake, and I sprang into action at 8:00 this morning and got together to yak and eat some breakfast at Sam's. Among other things, we started to look ahead to our upcoming get together in Pendleton in November and told some good stories about travel and what else is coming up for us. It was a good session. I bid Terry and Nancy farewell. They were heading back to Portland via a visit to Jake's place on Rose Lake. On my way home, I thought for a while about how I wasn't preparing to leave to return to Eugene or Maryland or anywhere else.
It's sinking in.
I live in Kellogg now.
2. Cas opens the Inland Lounge at 3:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. I decided to go up and see him right at opening time to have a couple glasses of Pennsylvania's finest, Rolling Rock, and to thank him for coming in early Friday afternoon, on the spur of the moment, and opening the Inland Lounge early for the herd of us who wanted to get together in his joint after we left the reception in Carol and Paul's back yard. After a bit, a longtime acquaintance and good friend of my Dad's, Doug "Bird Legs" Burmeister came in for a drink and he regaled me with a string of funny stories about my dad, Mike Turner, and a bunch of guys he used to go on booze drenched road trips with from Wallace to Missoula and other places. Once again, listening to Doug, I realized what a tame life I've led. I'm reminded of this time and time again in Kellogg when friends tell me stories about all kinds of escapades. I almost never have a funny, wild tale to tell, but I sure enjoy hearing what all these other guys were up to. It might still be true, I'm not sure, but things could get pretty wild in this valley thirty, forty, and more years ago.
3. Lyle, Lura, Cathy, and Derek had been up to the Snake Pit and when they got back, they joined Patrick, Christy, Everett, the Deke and me for a few rounds of drinks and some major league yakking in our living room. I will admit that yesterday, late in the day, the combination of travel across the USA, continuing to clear out Mom's belongings from the house, trying to get our house set up, the preparations for Mom's Celebration of Life, the putting on of the service, the excitement of the reception, the thrill of our get together uptown, and the family dinner afterward all got to me and I was tired. But, I rallied a little bit in my own quiet way, enjoyed little flight glasses of the Sheaf Stout and Irish Death that Don Knott gave me Friday afternoon, and learned more about my family through the many stories that swirled around the room. The Deke touched us all when, by Christy's request, she brought out her guitar and once again sang "Simple Gifts/Lord of the Dance", just as she did at Friday's service.
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