off to north dakota

today, i'm heading to north dakota for a family reunion. my mother's father was one of 10 children (8 boys, 2 girls) who grew up on a farm in gladstone nd. though my grandfather and one of his brothers have recently died, the extended family (surviving siblings, their children and grandchildren) get together every 2 years. the stories "the brothers" can tell are amazing. it was totally a different world to grow up in rural nd in the 20s and 30s. they took baths in a big metal tub. they shot and sold rabbits to make money. they threw watermelons at the neighbor's bulls, trying to spear them on the horns. they

got shot at by the neighbor.

i stopped by john's house (my old house) on the way down, to drop off the guinea pigs for him to watch, and to have dinner and movie. we saw fight club, and quite enjoyed it. mmmmmm, brad pitt.

it was late when i got ready to leave, and it was raining hard. i drove a piece, and decided that it was too dangerous to drive the 2.5 hours to my mom's house in the rain and dark, so i turned around and went back. spent the night with john. it felt so easy, so familiar. it would require no effort at all to slip back into our routine.

we even showered together this morning. he looked good, and it was nice to spend the evening with him.