Company's coming....

One of my cousins called the other day to tell me that he'll be in Texas for a few days in March. He and his daughter are going to Hawaii first, then he has business in Dallas to tend to, and then he'll be driving this way to visit us.

"That's great! I'll put the flag out!" -- which is exactly what my Uncle Tony used to tell everyone years ago when family were expected to visit. Uncle Tony was the first one to move out of Queens... he and his wife and sons moved "all the way out to Suffolk County," which was considered nearly sacrilege in the 1950s. He dared to move that far away from the rest of the family?

When the family drove from Queens out to Suffolk County to visit Tony, they'd let him know they were on their way, and my uncle would say "That's great! I'll put the flag out!"  (Translation: It must be a holiday, so let's celebrate by running the stars and stripes up the flagpole.)  Not many family members drove out to Suffolk County in those days, for the simple reason that they thought Uncle Tony shouldn't have moved that far away in the first place, so they just waited for Tony and his family to drive from out on the Island back into Queens.

Uncle Tony was also the first to move out of state--- all the way to Arizona.  And the family was in total denial and disbelief until the day they were packed up and ready to drive towards the west. As soon as they were settled in, up went a flagpole in the front yard, and my Uncle invited the rest of the family to come and visit, telling them he'd "put the flag out" when they were on their way. Considering the size of my big Italian family, only my dad and myself flew out there to visit my Uncle and Aunt (and by that time, their sons and their family had moved to Arizona also).

It will be nice to see my cousin S and his daughter here... they'll stay in the guest cottage, which I know his little girl will love. S is a city-boy at heart, and always has been, so it will be interesting to see his reaction to our home here out in the hills, surrounded by properties with horses and cows and goats. Not to mention the coyotes howling at night... and the sounds of the train in the distance at three o'clock in the morning... and I'm wondering if I should even mention the possibility that they might see a snake or two out by the back fence. And I guess I'll have to warn them about the fire ants also.  This should be an interesting visit...