Barb 'n me

I have felt so blue today! Don't know why. I have a roof over my head, food in my fridge, and family on the internet!!! But it's just not the same without Barbara! I can't explain it. I am not sorry that God chose to take her at this time because she was really bad off!!! In pain and not able to do anything for herself, etc. This was just not Barbara! Was thinking about the last time we took a trip together! We went to St. Joseph, Missouri for a family reunion of my Mother's people, the Rabideaus. We had recieved notice of it and started planning to go! I went to So. Cal. for something or other and Dick and Janie were there. I was telling him about the trip and he says, "we'd love to have you guys come and see us in Cleveland before you go home" Anyway, to make a long story short, he called me when I got back to Lodi and said that he and Janie had been talking it over and that they were going to pay for our trip to St. Joe if afterwards we would come back to Cleveland and see them before we went home. I told Barbara and she was estatic!!!! So we finished making out plans. Dick sent us the tickets and we went to the Reunion! We had to go via Dallas and then up to Kansas City. We had planned on getting a rental car so we could do a little sight seeing, etc., which we did and then set off for St. Joe. We found the Hotel where we were registered and where the reunion would be held. Never saw so many family members in my life!!! I forget how many had come from all over the U.S. and Canada! The first people we talked to, was a couple sitting on the veranda of the Hotel and they were from a place up near Quincy, Cal. They kind of hung out with us while signed in and then we had, that afternoon, a cocktail party, where everyone tried to get acquainted!!!! In looking around I thought, " I would have known this crowd any where!" While talking their hands were flying as fast as their mouths were! You just felt, well, at home! This one would introduce you to that one and so on. Many of them had been meeting someplace every four years for years! We were sitting at a table with this lady and a couple of guys from Canada walked in and sat down with us because they had known this lady at the table for years!!! They were so interesting. Their wives were there and finally wound up with us. Pretty soon they brought in, I don't know how many kinds of pizza and someone called out to come and get whatever kind you wanted and as much as you wanted!!!! After a certain length of time we had to get in line and they, the committee running the thing gave us envelopes with all the instructions as to what was going on the next few days and how to get there, etc. Everyone had been instructed by mail to bring family albums, etc. and these were set up in another room where there was books that one could buy ( about geneology of the fam., etc.)We were getting pretty tired by this time so we and everyone else kept drifting off to their rooms, or wherever they were staying. Barbara and I overslept the next morning (probably not the only ones) so we had to find a restaurant to get breakfast. Found one pretty close so ate quite a few meals there while in St. Joe. Tried to have our Continental breakfast at the Hotel though because it was free! They had scheduled a trip on the second day and our new-found friend told us that we wouldn't want to go on that! Alot of walking, climbing, etc. so we decided that we would go down to "Old Town" and see a few of the famous places. The house where Jessie James was shot, the first pony express station; this is where the first mail by pony express started out! and there were a few other Museums, etc. Then, since there was to be a dinner at one of the Old museums that night, we decided to go and visit a place that I had visited a long time ago. Well, I got her up to the next town and from there they had changed the highway that I wanted get on and yes, you guessed it! We got lost. We found ourselves going down an old gravelled road and way out in the country. Barbara decides that this is probably not the right way and so here we were!We stopped the car to try and get our bearings. Some guy comes along in a pickup. I yelled "hey" out the window and Barbara told me later she was scared to death! The guy stopped and when we told him where we wanted to go he had us turn aroung and go back into town and so we did find the way. We wanted to go to a Monastery that I had been to with Teresa and Hank and Bob years before! We found it but it was getting so late that we weren't able to stay very long and headed back to St. Joe. The nuns told us how to get to where we were going without going back to the little town we got lost in. We made it back in time for the dinner at the old Museum and a beautiful dinner and after dinner the Host told us the history of the Museum, Seems like there was a ghost living there with his wife and him! He finished the story and after looking at the million and one things there, all went back to the Hotel.The next morning after breakfast Barbara and I decided to try out the Casino at the edge of town. No, we didn't win anything but did find half the reunion members out there!!! That evening was the Grand "Ball" so to speak, a catered dinner at the Hotel! The next morning after that, one of the "relatives" a priest from Kansas City came to the Hotel and said Mass in one of the Conference rooms We packed up and left the Hotel to go to Kansas City to leave the rental car and catch our plane to Cleveland. After driving around and not being able to find the rental place and we had passed the airport several times and so Barbara says "Why don't I let you out and you can get our bags checked and I'll see if I can get this car back". I did as she instructed and found a place to sit with out carry-ons and then I started to wait for her. They announced loading and still no Barbara! Finally some one asked if I was waiting for someone and I told her the story. She went up and talked to the lady who was putting people on the plane and they called out for Barbara over the loud speaker, etc. I really started to worry. The loading lady came over to me and told me not to worry that they would do something else about our tickets, etc. So, when I had given up in walks Barbara! You guess it she finally had to stop and ask someone to guide her to the rental place! You see when we got off in Kansas City they were there with a shuttle to take us to the rental place!!! Well, I promise I will finish our trip sometime!!! I am getting very tired of typing!!!!!