On the Road from Springfield

Dinner with my sisters went better than I expected. Cindy, Sheila and Valerie all showed up. There were no shooting incidents. In fact, there were hugs all around afterward. They hadn't seen each other since Mom's funeral last October. Sheila brought her husband and Val brought her son, who is about to go off to college. He had a piercing through his eyebrow and another through his lip. When we were ordering, I told him, "I'd suggest the fish, but it looks like you already got hooked twice." I haven't quite gotten this uncle thing down yet. But I hope I helped heal some family divisions. They don't much care for each other but they all love me. Guess I'll have to take over the job from Mom of being the glue that holds the family together. The only TV at the hotel was HBO, which I don't watch, and since I didn't have access to the Internet and I don't read newspapers, I was almost totally cut off from the news. Guess I'll have to do some catching up before I can start whining again. I'm spending Monday and maybe Tuesday visiting with an old friend before I head back home. Don't know yet if I'll make it a one or two-day drive. I like to take it easy, but that ETA on my trip computer really tempts me to keep driving. "Hey, if I drive all day and don't stop for meals, I'll get there at one a.m. I can do that!"