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| Most Of The Gang |
Well, as expected, with thirteen of us, Evie and I are staying with family at a Hampton Inn in East Dallas, ten minutes from Beth's home. I've been sitting in the breakfast room since 7:00. This is the only Hampton Inn we've ever stayed in that starts breakfast at 7:00 instead of 6:00. That's Texas for you.
In a nutshell, Friday got us to Dallas by 9:30 — 8:30 Dallas time — but it was not fun. We were up at 4:30 at our Comfort Inn in Buffalo, took a shuttle to the airport at 5:30, and checked in at the American Airlines desk without a hitch. Then came the TSA line, which sandwiched around the airport for what felt like forever. I guess early morning is rush hour for flights out of Buffalo. We finally made it through, then waited maybe 20 minutes to board our Airbus to Dallas. I had forgotten how claustrophobic a plane cabin can be — stuffed three across, narrow aisle, packed flight. Fortunately, it was a decent ride with just a few bumpy minutes, nothing severe, and we landed at Dallas/Fort Worth a half hour early. It's a massive airport, made even crazier by construction, but we found our bags easily enough. Then the fun began trying to get an Uber. We weren't sure where we were in the airport, what level, nothing — and we had all kinds of trouble getting the app to cooperate. We even flagged down a couple of bystanders for help. Finally snagged a ride, and it took about 40 minutes to reach Beth's house. Yippee.
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| Jill And Marisa |
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| Tom, Mary, And Son Nick |
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| Beth And Marisa |
It was wonderful to see Beth, her two sons Mitchell and Tyler — who'd spent the week there helping — and her mother-in-law Chelo, along with Chelo's daughter Patty, whom I taught English to back in 1979. They'd had a hectic week but seemed to have Sunday's Celebration of Life for Rami fairly well organized. Around 11:00, my son Tom arrived from Kansas City with his wife Mary and son Nick. An hour later, our daughter Jill flew in from Virginia — everyone gathering for Rami's Celebration of Life on Sunday. Right around the same time as Jill, our granddaughter Marisa, a med school student at UT Austin, drove in. Wh Despite the heat, we were able to sit out on Beth's porch, thanks to a newly bought umbrella. It's always wonderful to have family together, even on a sad occasion. Lots of laughs and tears. We had Jimmy John's sandwiches for lunch — or leftovers — while we mapped out the next two days. Tyler's girlfriend Renee arrived from Atlanta around 2:30, and unfortunately, Mitch's wife Milena, flying in from LA, had her flight delayed and wouldn't make it until evening.
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| Tyler, Renne, And Tin Tin |
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| Birthday Boy Mitch And Family |
Evie, Jill, Tom, and family and I, headed out around 3:30 to check into the Hampton Inn, relaxed for a bit, then made our way back to Beth's at 4:30. Tom got on his phone and ordered Terry Black's barbecue for dinner at 6:00 — delivered right to the door. Before that, we enjoyed cocktails, wine, and beer out on the porch as it began to cool off a little. Then we feasted on ribs, brisket, various barbecue sauces, beans, and an enormous container of coleslaw. By 7:30, Evie and I were running on fumes, so Nick volunteered to drop us off at the Hampton Inn and head back to Beth's. We didn't linger — lights out by 9:00.
Nice family photos !
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