The Ronderosa Was Rocking!

This morning Buttermilk and I pulled into the ranch at ten after ten and I was glad to be home even though our family reunion was a total blast from the past.

Yesterday at ten minutes past noon, Buttermilk and I arrived at The Ronderosa ranch in Dripping Springs. Ronnie was tending to his smoker, but when he saw me pull up he came to greet me along with Nita. After a powerful bear hug from Ron, I was thrilled when Nita wrapped her slender arms around me and gently hugged me. "Hey, Nance!" Ronnie said. "You're the first one here. I am glad that you didn't get lost."

I loved being the first to get there, because it gave us an opportunity to visit before our thirty-two other relatives arrived. Within an hour everyone had arrived, but two—my younger cousin Greggie and his twenty-one year old son Parker, because they had some car trouble after leaving Fort Worth.

I love my family so much. When we get together it is like we are best friends and we pick up right where we last left off, but I must admit my arms were aching from being hugged so many times. In no time flat The Ronderosa was rocking and all you could hear was laughter and chatter, as Ronnie continued to stand outside visiting with our cousins—smoking his delicious sausage, briskets, chicken and pork ribs, in his gigantic, homemade pit.

My brother Ronnie is famous for his barbecue and the pits he has built—everyone wants one, but most can't afford one. In fact, a few years back Ronnie sold one of his giant homemade pits to a restaurant / bar up in Boulder, Colorado and he was paid to fly up there and spend a week teaching the new owners his secrets and giving them his secret recipes on how to cook the Best Texas Style BBQ.

While Ron was outside smokin' I was inside visiting in the kitchen with my sister Cindy, my older Cousin George and his younger brother Cousin Tony. "George," I said. "Do you remember the time when we were kids and you went camping with our family up in Roaring River, Missouri?" George started laughed.

"Yes, I do and I will never forget it," George said. "It traumatized me." We all started laughing and then asked him why. "Well, I had just turned thirteen—I was just a boy and I wasn't really into girls, yet. I was down at the river fishing by myself and catching nothing when this girl shows up and starts talking to me. I guess that she was flirting with me, but I didn't know it and I just kept on fishing. Anyway, when I got back home in Houston She calls me a few weeks later and tells me she is in love with me and it scared me to death!"

"Where'd she live?" I asked. George starts laughing again.

"Somewhere in West Texas. I think it was Lubbock. Then her older brother who was probably three or four years older, probably about sixteen, starts calling me and telling me his sister loves me and I should marry her!" We all started laughing. "I was scared every time the phone rang, because Mom and Dad had taught me to answer the phone, "Hello, this is so-in-so's residence. This is George..."

"Wait a minute, George," I said. "How'd she get your phone number?" Then there was another round of laughter and teasing. Before George could answer me I said, "Well, George, we've got a surprise for you today. This is your life! Come on out,  Miss Becky!" George turned around and then he burst out laughing. And, that is how I spent my afternoon visiting and laughing with my family.

After a delicious dinner I asked Ronnie to show me the drum-box seats that he had built. A minute later he and I were sitting on top of these cool homemade drums, in his music room, beating out some cool rhythms and it quickly drew a crowd of cousins and everyone wanted to sit on them and take a turn at playing them. While everyone played the drums Cindy and I asked Ronnie to please build us drum-seats and we told him that we would gladly pay him for them. And then my Cousin Tony, Cindy and I tried to talk Ron into building them and selling them down on the Drag by UT, because we knew they would sell like hot cakes. Then the real music commenced and I loved it!

Everyone grabbed their guitars, dulcimers and mandolins and started playing and singing and the music was incredibly great and that went on for a couple of hours. Then Mandy's son, Michael, my twenty-eight year old second cousin, pulled out his electric guitar, plugged it into his amp and blew all of us away with his awesome lead guitar talent and skills when he accompanied a rock 'n roll CD. He was like Jimi, Jerry Garcia, Led Zepelin, Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughn—rolled up into one! No one could believe what they were hearing as we watched in awe of his magnificent guitar performance. His lead guitar playing gave me goose bumps, because he reminded me so much of my first love Steve, who could play like that and who had actually played with Jimi Hendrix in the late Sixties.

When the music stopped we were treated by Cousin Susie, Uncle Howard's oldest daughter, to watch the latest documentary "Uncommon Vision: The Life And Times Of John Howard Griffin" about her father and our famous uncle, that is having its premier showing in Fort Worth at the Modern Art Museum this coming Thursday.

Everyone enjoyed watching it and thought it was a fantastic documentary about his life and times and it was very well done and Susie told us that it is already scheduled to air on PBS and already getting rave reviews!

I could write all night about how much fun I had with my family, but I can't because I must go to bed.

P.S. It looks like Betty Boop has found her forever home and is going to be adopted out this Friday. Keep your fingers crossed for her!

Y'all have a great evening!