Sexton Family Reunion

There I was...........in Hendersonville, North Carolina..........attending the Sexton Family Reunion. I had never been to a reunion before, so this was something new and different for me. About 40 assorted relatives were in attendance............and word has it that if all of the Sexton kinfolk were to show up, they would have had to rent a much larger building to hold us all. Geesh.....if my own kids and their kids would have attended, that would have been a crowd in and of itself.

I am a part of the Sexton Family. My mother just so happens to have been born right there in Hendersonville.......the daughter of John W. and Nellie Davis Sexton. This was the first time I had ever visited my mother's birthplace. It was also the first time meeting the majority of the Sextons. Sure, there were some I had met before.......but I was just a small kid and could hardly remember them. And there were some cousins that I do remember and hadn't seen for about 42 years. It was wonderful to see and meet everyone there.

My cousin Rodney and his wife Mary were there. The last time I saw him was at his childhood home in Asheville, North Carolina. My dad and mom never drove when I was a kid and we never had a car....so, thanks to my aunt Juanita, we got to visit Rodney's family a long, long time ago. It felt real good seeing Rodney. He's a great dude and appears to be living a happy life. Chances are, he probably went years and years wondering if he would ever see us again. Even I have done aot of wondering over the years. I am so glad that I got to see him. Hopefully, I can see him again soon.

Naturally, if you are gonna have a get-together, you are gonna have to have some good eats along for consumption. Each of us was to bring some sort of "dish".......and since I had travelled all the way from Baltimore, it would have been difficult for me to bring something home-made. I opted to stop at a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant and get a large bucket of fried chicken.......I figured I couldn't go wrong with that choice.....hehehe. (and I was right......there wasn't even a bone left in the bucket.

Casseroles, pies, cakes, pot roast, chicken, vegetables.........plenty of food for everyone and it was extremely tasty. I could have scarfed down more than my share but you know the deal.......I don't want people who rarely see me to have their only memory of me as having a huge appetite.......hehehehe.

There's one of my sisters sitting at a table smiling. My cousin Rodney appears to be waiting to snap a picture in anticipation of a rising cloud of methane.....hehehe.......well.......there was a dish of beans involved..............just kidding..............she was smiling because it was me that farted..............nahhh, I am just kidding again.......she was smiling because she was happy.....as was I.

At reunions, you get the opportunity to fill in the missing pieces to that puzzle known as your family tree. There is no better way to share information than to do it in person. And if someone wasn't able to be there, someone could simply whip out a picture.

I could not have imagined being there without my wife, "Supernurse". I am the luckiest man on the planet. And together, we have done more than our fair share of extending the Sexton lineage.....hehehe.

In the picture above, my sister and her daughter are talking to another cousin, Mike Carlisle. Mike is a musician as it turns out, and a pretty darned good one at that. His music is reflective of the Blue Ridge mountains and would most likely be considered to be in the folk genre. He gave me one of his cd's and I listened to it while on the drive back to Baltimore. There is no question that this relative of mine has some real bonafide talent. Furthermore, he is truly a nice person and I was real glad to have met him.

The Charlotte, North Carolina contingent was there and they were such nice decent people that I look forward to seeing them again. Rick, seated in the middle of the picture, told me that he had recently been to Baltimore to see the Orioles and if he had known how to contact me he would have dropped in for a visit. He said he also wouldn't have known if it was okay to show up with his best friend Tom.........the "rock star". The "rock star"?..............I cannot see where I would have a problem with that. Rick tells us that his friend Tom, the "rock star" is in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.............oh.......and his name is Tom Constanten. It turns out that Tom was the original keyboard player for the Grateful Dead and is currently on tour playing keyboards for Jefferson Starship.........imagine that! No problem Rick........come on by, anytime......with or without Tom, of course!

Gee........you just never know who those people are at those Orioles games......hehehe.

The Sexton Family Reunion 2007.........I shall never forget the experience.