Vacation

One week from today, I will head to NM for a family reunion. It will mostly be the first cousins of the Barker Clan. The two remaining Barker brothers will probably not be there which is very disappointing. My mom and my Uncle Paul will both be there although technically they are in-laws to the Barkers. There are fifteen first cousins and about that many second cousins - some married and some not. Some will come from West Virginia and another from Ohio. The Louisiana cousins are the most fun, but I doubt they show up - another disappointment. The rest of us all enjoy each other greatly - lots of type A personalities - but still fun. Last year's reunion was fun. The Town of Red River made June 11th "Otto and Bonnie Barker Family Day" for the fun and goodtimes the Barkers have brought to RR.

It will also be a good vacation. Just being in the mountains brings a certain type of peace to the soul. It is like going home again. I loved growing up in RR. I have good friends there. It was like a dream life - certainly not reality. When you live in a resort town, you meet people from all over the country who come on vacation. You could be whoever you wanted to be with the tourist - they would not be there for long. Maybe life in the pines was helpful in finding out who you were and who you wanted to be. It is also a very harsh life. Life is seasonal - work is seasonal. You only have a few months out of the year to make your living - pretty tough when the cost of living is so high. Family life is hard. Divorce is the norm. Taos County has the highest alcohol realated deaths per capital in the US. Drugs and alcohol are abundant - after all, it is a party place. Still, I love RR. I loved living there. I love going back, but I am glad that I live in OK now.