Miscellaneous

Pinot Evil and other Southern tales

Oh, what a week.  The funeral was lovely and sad and heartbreaking, probably the only truly Southern funeral I'll attend.  I am deeply, deeply disturbed at open caskets (this was my second open casket funeral, but thankfully the casket was closed after the visitation). 

There is now a Starbucks in the redneck town my grandparents lived in, which, for some reason, made everything seem so much more final. 

On the whole, it was a nice trip, and I kept forgetting I was there for a funeral. The house was noisy and boisterous and full of family catching up with one another.  The weather was beautiful - clear and cold (!) and it was so incredibly funny to watch the N. Floridians all wrapped up in wool and fur coats for 50 F.   So much for the linen skirts I had packed.

I almost feel guilty for having as much fun as I did.  I spent more time with my brother John than I don't know when - maybe 1994 when he was a rebellious 15 year old who spent a week with us.  And it was a cultural exchange: he had to order my venti-non-fat-no-whip-white-chocolate-mocha at the drive-thru and I listened to a LOT of mainstream country, most of which I enjoyed.  I shared a room with my mother.  I tried on shoes with my cousins.  I bought pinot noir at Winn-Dixie called "Pinot Evil" (imported, it said) and was surprised it was palatable (after breathing).  I played Scrabble with my uncles and mother.  One uncle took us on a hike around a river sink, and I experienced something miraculous: hours outside in North Florida and NO INSECTS.  (I usually would visit in the spring and summer.)  I discovered my brother is mortally afraid of snakes.

I started to drawl.  During said Scrabble game, I said, "Y'all are going to have to skip me - I'm out of tiles."  With a full, North Florida accent. 

It was emotionally draining, but here's the truth: I had a blast.   It was what my grandmother had wanted all along, why she had specified that the estate should pay for everyone to travel: it was probably one of the last times the whole group would be together.   It was the most fun I've ever had with the family. 

Full post as published by The Menagerie on December 05, 2008 (boomark / email).