Dry County
Hi there! This is an extremely photo-heavy post with only a few knitting references. You have been warned.
Jacob's family reunion in Mississippi was this weekend. That's Booneville, Mississippi. Jumpertown. Here's the shirt:
I told you there would be a tractor and a sewing machine.
Geno is Jacob's grandmother's (mom's side) maiden name - the folks at the reunion were all descendants of Charlie and Doris Geno, who were Jacob's great-grandparents. There was a cheat sheet for people like me who were kinda clueless:
I used this. A lot.
The reunion was at the fellowship hall of a tiny church in Jumpertown. Jacob's cousin (?) Chuck said this to me at Huddle House the morning of the reunion: "If you're with the Genos and you're being quiet, you're either in the wrong place or you're eating." Chuck was SO NOT KIDDING.
Click to see the fried goodness and family fun...
The reunion began with four hours of snacking and visiting, from 1 - 5. We got there at 1:00 sharp to visit our little hearts out. First stop was the nametag table. I scanned for mine and then Jacob's great-aunt Mary Ann points mine out: it says, 'Carrie Ought to Be Bishop'. Giggle. Mary Ann said that she called Jacob's grandfather and his dad to get my last name, and they both said, "Well, it oughta be Bishop!" hee hee.
And the visiting ensued. I think I'll just show you some pictures.
Doris and Charlie's kids.
L to R: Mary Ann, Linda, Billie (Jacob's grandma), Shug, and Charline.
(The other sibling and only brother, Satch, passed away.)
Jacob's parents with Cousin Trent.
Cousins Amanda and Sean racing in the graveyard.
The majority of the graves are Jacob's relatives.
Jacob's Uncle Mark, who sometimes reads this blog.
(Hi, Mark!)
Visiting can include knitting too.
We really did just hang out for four hours and visit. It was fun to meet people and hear about Jumpertown. Jumpertown is a SMALL TOWN, ya'll. I mean, really small. And did I mention that it's a dry county? As in, you can't buy beer, and apparently you can get in trouble if you purchase it elsewhere, bring it into the county, and drink it. Even if you're 21. More on that later.
Anyways, everyone was really, really nice. Jacob's not so good with the introducing (and in his defense, he was the official event photographer, so he was pretty busy) so lots of people just came up to me and said, "So, who are you?" And by the way, if you thought your family was loud, you haven't met the Genos. The noise level was insane in that little fellowship hall.
The main event was, of course, the catered dinner. I believe the catering place was called Bob's, and they actually brought a big truck with a kitchen in it and cooked all the food outside. We had FRIED. Fried shrimp, fried catfish, fried chicken, fried chicken livers. And some coleslaw. Aw, yeah.
Fried.
The noise level decreased considerably after everyone starting eating, and it was almost dead quiet when people were finishing up. SO. MUCH. FOOD. The dessert table was incredible - I wish I'd gotten a picture - I had homemade strawberry cake and banana pudding. Yes, I had both.
I couldn't really do anything after eating except grunt. And go back to our hotel to sleeeeep. But there was no time for sleep - there was more visiting to do! However, this visiting was more like the after-party to the reunion. The young folks after party, if ya know what I mean. One of Jacob's cousins drove to another county for a beer run and we all congregated at a relative's house to "play cards". (I'm being purposely vague to protect those who actually LIVE in Jumpertown...). I think the pictures would show the situation better:
There was poker. And tall boys.
Jacob and Alison will kick your ass in poker.
I accused Will of hoarding his chips.
He said, "You call this hoarding? I call it winning."
There may have been some booty dancing. MAYBE.
There was definitely a Velvet Elvis. Click to see.
So, there was some extra visiting that evening. It was fun to watch all these cousins who hadn't seen each other in years get to know each other again - one of my favorite exchanges was Cousin Ashley's reaction to Alison being a vegetarian. (Note: this conversation occured in Huddle House around 2:15.) She said: "Now lemme get this straight. You don't eat ANY MEAT? Not even chicken? Why in THE HELL would you do that?" Totally awesome.
So, Genos=good times. Fer sure. And if it ever gets too loud, I know just where to go:
So. relaxing.
Coming this week: Knitting pictures! Secret projects revealed! And after Wednesday, birthday pictures. Whee!
Comments (25)
Keep up the great work on your blog. Best wishes WaltDe
Posted by WaltDe | August 31, 2006 1:47 PM
Loved the pics. Too bad you didn't post a pic of Ashley for everyone to see. We had a great time that night hangin out. Your going to have to come back sometime when it's a lot less hectic.
Posted by Belinda | July 23, 2005 12:26 AM
Awesome! Sounds like a GREAT time! It's good to see you were so comfortable. I think if G's family had a reunion I would definitely be an outsider.
Posted by Cara | July 17, 2005 11:49 AM
Hi, My mom's family has a reunion the last Sunday in October at the Lion's Club house in Alapaha, Georgia. Alapaha is a very very small town. No red light.
When my dad was alive he would video tape the reunion. Then the next year he would compile and make a copy for the door prize. That tape was the most sought after prize. Everyone wanted one.
Food everywhere! Ice cold sweet ice tea! (It's a southern thang!)
Children running around playing with cousins they see once a year or so. Grown ups catching up on births, deaths, and weddings.
Love it!
Posted by Dianne | July 13, 2005 2:48 PM
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I wish could be there to celebrate with you! Have a wonderful time!
Posted by Leslie | July 13, 2005 12:06 PM
Sounds like fun-my dad's family reunion is in a small town in IN- ditto on LOTS OF FOOD! Especially desserts= A TABLE FULL OF PIES AND SWEETS!
I hope to go back some year!
Posted by Susan | July 13, 2005 8:15 AM
Dude, that's CRAZY! I wanna go to one of those shindigs just to see what it's like! Glad you had fun!!!! and you ARE the cutest thing EVER!
Posted by Lara | July 13, 2005 1:19 AM
Oh my...reunions. My DH is one of 11 & boy when we went to Kansas City, MO. for that, it was huge & tiring. Between all the kids & grand kids. It was fun though. Glad you had a great time.
Posted by Eilene | July 12, 2005 4:04 PM
How fun! I know just how small Booneville and surrounding cities are; I used to cover parts of Northeast Mississippi as a reporter for the Daily Journal in Tupelo, MS. I'd forgotten about all the weird "dry" laws. You know it can vary from county to county and city to city, don't you? I grew up in a city that sold beer but not liquor (and nothing on Sundays), and went to college in a town that would sell both -- but no *cold* beer (supposedly to discourage drinking and driving). Although they'd happily sell you beer, plus ice, plus a cooler. Duh. The silly rules of the old South. ;o) Sounds like you have fun wherever you are, which can be an accomplishment in a reunion full of strangers, even nice ones.
Best wishes for happy knitting & more family fun!
Posted by Carolyn B. | July 12, 2005 1:28 PM
Ahhh....the fried! It makes me have a tummy ache just looking at it...yet at the same time, that shrimp looks reaaaaaalllllllly good. I love the shirts! You crazy kids, rebelling in the dry county. Too funny. Looks like it was lots of fun, and I cannot wait to find out what it is you are knitting in that pic.
Posted by Sarah | July 12, 2005 1:20 PM
The picture that involves Jacob holding up a "Tall Boy" and me in a black wife-beater...one for the 'fridge. No doubt.
Posted by Alison | July 12, 2005 11:37 AM
You've got to expect that any family that includes members named Shug and Satch has GOT to be fun.
It's so nice that they made the effort to bring everyone together, I'm starting to value my family more and more as I get older. It's always nice to make those connections, especially over poker!
How did Jacob react to the name tag incident?
Posted by Jenna | July 12, 2005 11:27 AM
Whoo hoo for fried! That looks yummers. Sounds like you had fun!
:)
Posted by biglug | July 12, 2005 10:47 AM
I'm so jealous of all that great fried food! Sounds like a blast!
Posted by Rossana | July 12, 2005 10:10 AM
Why are you like the cutest girl EVER!?!? Love it! The shirts, the pics of fried stuff, the family shots...the BEST!
Posted by Skylar | July 11, 2005 6:51 PM
You're actually the cutest person on the face of the Earth. Fer Sure.
Posted by Elspeth | July 11, 2005 4:30 PM
Awesome shirt!
Posted by Mariko | July 11, 2005 2:43 PM
Looks like you had so much fun! And with so many people you didn't know! Who woulda thunk it? I've been to one of those. It was Adam's family. They are from Floralla (right on the line of Alabama and Florida) and talk about your small town family reunion! It was EXACTLY like yours, only with no printed shirts. The GREATEST part of the family reunion I went to was the moment Adam's great uncle (?) asked me who I was? I replied, "OH! I'm Adam's wife; it's so nice to meet you!" He smiled, nodded, shook me hand and told me it was nice to meet me too. The he proceeded to ask "And who's Adam?" I almost fell over!
Posted by Carrie | July 11, 2005 2:34 PM
Reading this post is making me reconsider my decision to not attend a family reunion in August. In South Louisiana. What was I thinking?
Posted by Anita | July 11, 2005 2:16 PM
All that food! Looks like so much fun. I could get in so much trouble in a dry county. Why oh why are there dry counties?? Can't wait to see the secret projects :)
Posted by Vicki | July 11, 2005 1:51 PM
I'm still laughing at the t-shirts and the fact that most people were wearing them. Seeing your recap made me wish I had a bigger family. What a hoot!
Posted by Kate | July 11, 2005 1:48 PM
Ought to be bishop...that was so funny!
Looks like you had a great time!!
Posted by heather | July 11, 2005 1:37 PM
Yup, been to one of those. Great thing about fried food, it really helps keep the cogs greased. Wonder if it makes you knit faster? Hmmm...
Glad you had fun!
Posted by Rachel | July 11, 2005 1:23 PM
Good god--all that AND a Velvet Elvis. How could you leave?
I am so craving something fried right now. Popcorn shrimp maybe, or chicken. And fries...mmmm fries...
Posted by Em | July 11, 2005 1:01 PM
If you've never been to a family reunion in a small town in the South you just couldn't possibly understand. Look's like you just had yersef a GREAT time. I think the only time the eatins' better is after a funeral in the South! I'm surprised there weren't fried chitlins (okay - unfortunately I know it's chitterlings but I don't eat 'em myself) Looking forward to more knitting stuff but glad to see you were "struttin' your needles" in Mississippi.
Signed Robin (born in Vicksburg, Mississippi - raised in Tennessee!)
Posted by Robin | July 11, 2005 12:11 PM