Labor Day Weekend

by Robert Darnell  [date unknown, but note: When Alicia and Jennifer were four]

For Labor Day Weekend Jerre wanted to get a beach house down at Galveston for all the family and everyone else who wanted to come down. Rob was agreeable as he always is so they leased one at Sea Isle on a canal lot. Beck wanted to be on the beach so we changed it and got one on the beach of Jamaica, which is much better.

Jerre, Beck, Alish, and Rob, and David, Jan, David, and Jennifer went down Friday. One of the first things we noticed was how bad the mosquitoes and ants were, so we started swatting, and spraying, and scratching immediately. We stayed down there four days and pretty soon we were used to them and didn't pay them much more attention.

Jerre cooked for a week, enough food for an army, before we went and we really had a car full going down. All four of us rode in the front seat with the back seat loaded to the roof, and trunk piled full of gear and food.

Our house was right on the beach and had a "mountain with trees on it," right off the front deck. The mountain and trees were not what is commonly thought of when you hear those words, but it was four-year-old Alish's description of a big sand dune with driftwood logs in it. Her description was just right.

Friday night Melanie, Fred, Melanie's brother Hot Sam in Lake Jackson, stayed Friday night. Breakfast in the morning with eggs, bacon sizzling in the pan, toast, jelly; it was out of this world.

Several of Becky's friends came down and spent Saturday night: Nat, Lisa, Amy, Sara, Wendy, Chad, Chuck, Chan, Chilly, Chub, Termite, and Micro. They slept on the floor in sleeping bags, blankets, mattresses, and couches. There was a small hassle about separating the boys and girls by it was mild and no problem.

Sylvia didn't come down until Sunday. It was her first time in the sun and she roasted, fried, broiled, baked and basted until she was well-done.

Also, Sunday, some of Jerre's co-workers, Carla, Bitsy, Chuck, Mike, and Dwayne, came and brought a sail boat, catamaran. Dwayne and Mike took everyone sailing who wanted to go. There was a good wind and a great day for sailing. None of them stayed over night, but left late in the evening.

We stuffed our gut all the time we were there. Beer, chicken salad, potato salad, stew, cookies, cake, baked beans ... beer, hamburgers, condiments, beer, dips and chips, and beer.On Monday Joe and Carla Vick came and brought some shrimp. We boiled them and they were just fantastic. There was plenty of booze, beer, and coffee, and cokes for everyone the whole time.

One afternoon we went crabbing back on some old pier, but only caught one crab. Some people were water-skiing just off the jetty's, so we figured they had the crabs jetting. Beck caught the only one and it was a perfect Blue Crab. We were hoping to get about sixteen of those and have a crab boil, but we didn't. We let the lone one go back in the surf. It went dashing off sideways and gave us the claw on the way out.

David and David went down on the seawall to a fishing pier one night to do some pier fishing. Almost 2:30 in the morning, Jennifer woke Jerre up, who woke Bob up and saw that the Daves were not back yet, so off they went looking for them. They looked up and down the seawall and pier for the Davids and then went back to the house. Naturally they were already there and in bed. That's when thirty-year-old David was wondering when he will be old enough to stay out without his Maw and Paw coming to look for him.

Joe Vick in striking up a conversation with Jennifer asked how old she was. "Four." she said.

"What are you going to be when you're grown up?" asked Joe.

"Five," said Jennifer.

All those interested watched the Oilers' game Sunday and they beat Los Angeles so that made everybody happy. Especially with the kick returner's 95 yard kickoff return for the game winning touchdown.

All in all it was a great four days walking on the beach, laying on the beach, surfing, sailing, eating, drinking, fishing, and loafing. Not a bad way, to spend Labor Day, we all say!

end