Over the Fourth of July weekend a rare event occurred. An event so physically and psychologically damaging that many involved may never achieve a full recovery.

Since most involved have never been accused of being physically or psychologically normal to begin with, a full recovery would still leave half a deck. Half a deck, no kings, no queens, a bunch of jokers and one Batman.

The Ellis family reunion was summed up pretty well in the shirts my sister, Amanda designed for the event “What a Blast.” Literally and figuratively, we had a blast and if you didn’t, there were so many people there that no one probably noticed anyway.

It had been a long time since Fritz and Helen’s children had all been able to get together and enjoy, or at least tolerate, the company of each other’s families. It seems that enjoying and/or tolerating one another is something we all used to do a lot more of, and I hope this is the start of a more regular get-together for the Ellis clan.

I enjoyed sitting there and hearing all the voices and laughs that were part of my childhood. I felt like a kid again hearing my aunt, Carol’s snort and seeing her spit a mouth full of water out laughing at her brother, Ronald. These people know how to laugh, full on and often, and if you can’t handle that laugh being pointed in your direction from time to time you’re either a new in-law or possibly adopted from much more serious ancestry.

Serious isn’t bad but we’ll do all we can to laugh it into submission.

Family reunions are important for many reasons. They provide reassurance to your wife she’s not the only women that has to put up with people like you. This is a wonderful time to form an in-law support group. Just be sure to have your group meeting out of bottle rocket range. We can’t help ourselves.

Family reunions are also a good time to learn that when the neat glowing liquid inside of those plastic glow sticks is squirted directly into the eyes, it will result in about an hour of searing pain. Who knew? My son knows now, but I mean before that.

It’s all fun and games until you lose an eye or two. Then it’s still fun and games but your horseshoe and skeet shooting ability declines a bit. Speaking of skeet shooting… Family reunions are a good time to become aware of your wife’s ability to effectively handle a shotgun. If she can hit a clay pigeon, she can hit you. Let that thought soak in a little.

I am truly thankful for my family and proud to be a part of the Ellis clan. Seeing all of us in one spot it was hard to believe it all started with just two people. Two people can cause a lot of problems if they’re not careful.

Thank you, Aunt Debbie and Uncle Doug for turning your farm into a KOA for a few days. Next time when selecting a reunion location we will base our decision on sewer system capabilities.

Next time?