A day off from the Disney parks meant taking a short drive to Tampa to visit our Pollard cousins. Steve’s aunt, Norma joined us along with cousins, Tom and Adrienne and their kids Joshua and Finn. For these McClellands it was the first time meeting our east coast kid-cousins, Joahua and Finn.

After visiting with the family at Tom and Adrienne’s place, Norma took us out for an upscale Mexican dinner. The long-ish table only became a barrier to conversation and I felt left out of the talk at the other end. My words with my Aunt Norma were too few, our time together too short.

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On April 15, Tax Day, a 108-page booklet arrived from Norma’s travel agent. They don’t want us to miss a thing. They tease us with descriptive Madison Avenue copy on several packaged itineraries for each and every port of call. I had to give up reading my Paul Theroux Pillars of Hercules for one night to study the options.

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Gretchen and I are healthy, all things considered. I await knee replacement but prefer to play with pain as long as I can. Gretchen, the smoker, walks the dog every monrning before work. In my eyes she still looks good.

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Gretchen, was always the giver and seldom the taker. She had surprised her husband with birthday parties on five occasions. So it was Tom’s turn. Surprises are always much work just to keep it a secret and to get the crowd to attend without giving it away.

On Aug. 25, friends Allan and Marie Stone took the McClellands to the Old Spaghetti Factory in Roseville for a casual dinner. When Gretch got off the elevator at the second floor, she was greeted by 35

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