Visit from the Fam - Sept '08: part 1

So this weekend I was sitting around the house, listening to NPR for hours like I normally do, when I heard that this week's episode of "A Prairie Home Companion" was broadcasting live from Tulsa! EEEE!!! How could I miss that, you know? So of course, I tuned in and I pictured Garrison Keillor standing up on that familiar stage and wondered how many of my friends and acquaintances were in the audience. And I thought about the numerous shows I've seen in that building and the many many more performances and rehearsals I've taken part in myself.

Sigh. I miss Tulsa a lot. I miss that old familiarity. I miss the theater companies there. I especially miss the people. My friends. My family.

All of this wistful longing to be with loved ones reminded me that I have yet to post photos from September when my parents and my brother, Ray, came to visit! Shameful! So this week, I'm going to share some of the best shots with you from their visit.


Unfortunately, I did not take any photos on their first big day here. We walked around Duke University, where we saw beautiful flowers, the gorgeous chapel/cathedral, and spied way too many expensive cars ($100K and up! Those Duke kids ain't broke). We also stopped by Hillsborough & drove out to Maple View Farms where we ate ice cream while watching the cows in the distance. But possibly the most transformational moment of the trip occurred at Allen & Sons Barbecue where we ate Eastern Carolina style BBQ for the first time. It was at this venerable institution that Ray made a profound and shocking discovery: Ray prefers this vinegar-based shredded pork BBQ over the Texas & Oklahoma style Q that he has been eating all of his life. Astounding. If the wrong Okies find out about this, he may be kicked out of the state, so keep that news under your hats.

Anyway. No photos of that stuff, gosh darn it! But there are plenty of other photos to share. I hope to begin posting them later today. Just let me finish wrestling with Frankenputer. This may take a while ...