I went to Louisiana a few weeks ago to see my maternal grandparents and other family...via car...with my parents...
1. My parents are pretty nice people. Spending 16 1/2 hours each way in the car and the entire trip together, I had a nice time getting to know my parents again. We've had our very rough patches in the past, mostly because of my mom's alcoholism, so it has been nice to build some good stuff with them. I love making my dad laugh, cracking wise and such. During one such exchange, we were at a Walgreen's waiting for my mom to checkout. My dad and I were looking at maps and I had one of those newish laminated ones;
My dad: That's pretty neat. How much is it?
A-Bomb: $8.
My dad: Damn. I remember when a map was 50 cents.
A-Bomb: Was it carved out of stone, old man?
Both: Laughing. (then my dad relayed our convo to my mom)
2. When you go back to hanging out with grandparents, parents, aunts, etc, you will be relegated to the same position in the food chain as when you were 5. I found myself playing countless hours of Uno with my 8 yo cousin or riding quads with her more so than drinking beer and talking with the "adults". I also was told on several occassions "Dont eat that, dinner is in a little while". My grandma cooks great, but it is so bad for you. Biscuits and gravy and bacon, with the gravy being made from the bacon fat. Delicious. Also, aligator is delicious.
3. Racism is alive and well. Sometimes I have a candy-coated unicorns view of race relations in 2007. I think that people accept other people's differences and know that we can all get along in the name of progress. The n word is generally reserved for someone in the very poorest parts of the area and is used casually. They arent hanging blacks from trees anymore, but the conditions havent improved much over time. I played golf at my uncle's "country club". It was a country club in the fact that it had an $80/month fee so that the club owners could basically choose who too admit and to "keep the blacks and mexicans out". Wowza. I guess my job is to teach my children differently.
4. We drove 1102 miles each way in about 16.5 hours (I-10 to I-20 to outside Shreveport, LA). I drove 14 there and then hit the mental wall. Our times going there and coming back were only about 8 minutes different. I dont think that record can be broken. We made a minimal number of stops. Sirius rules.
5. Fishing is fun. Quads are fun. My little five year old cousin was catching fish, one every 3-4 minutes with her $10 Shrek rod. I guess she always catches more fish than anyone. My 9yo cousin has a huge buck head in the living room of their house that she shot when she was 7. She loves computers and reads a lot of 9/11 conspiracy theory.
6. Not having Internet always available is a blessing and a curse.
7. Family is important. It was interesting to finally understand a lot of the intricate relationships within my mom's family and how everyone fit together. My mom got to see four of her aunts (one who is 85 and has Alzheimer's) for the first time in years. That is all pretty special and I cant wait to have my own family.
I'll post some pics later.
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