“What we’ve got here is … failure to communicate.”

There is a stark contrast between my mom’s family and my dad’s family.  My mom is from a family of five, and they grew up in the suburbs in South Carolina.  Her family loves to laugh and sing, and they’re loaded with musical talent.  Anytime we would all get together, there would be lots of food, laughter and singing.  I remember going to an extended family reunion, and being amazed at all of the musical talent that was there.

My dad is from a family of nine, and they grew up on a farm in the country.  They moved around some, but they call north Alabama their home.  Most of them were blessed with an entrepreneurial spirit, and have experienced success on various levels.  They enjoy getting together, but they are much quieter than my mom’s family.  I think most of them could spend hours together without saying a word.

After Grandma passed away, my dad and his siblings had been in Alabama to take care of the estate.  Dad and one of his brothers were driving back to Memphis together in my uncle’s van.  My uncle wasn’t in a good mood and Dad was tired, so Dad was taking a nap in the back seat.  My uncle decided to stop for gas in Huntsville.  While they were stopped, Dad decided to take a restroom break, but didn’t tell my uncle he was getting out of the van.  When he came back outside, my uncle and the van were gone!

Now this was before everyone had cell phones, and Dad didn’t have a way to reach my uncle.  But he wasn’t too concerned.  Surely my uncle would notice he wasn’t in the van before he went very far.  But after about an hour, Dad realized my uncle wasn’t coming back.  He got a ride to the airport, called my Mom, purchased a ticket, and took a flight from Huntsville to Memphis.

A few hours later, when he was about a mile from my parents’ house, my uncle finally spoke.  “Aaron, we’re almost there.”  When he didn’t get a response, he turned to look, and saw that Dad wasn’t there.  It wasn’t until then that he realized what had happened.  He had left Dad at the gas station in Huntsville.

He got to my parent’s house and rang the doorbell.  When my mom answered the door, he confessed, “Well, I think I left Aaron in Huntsville.”  When my mom told him that Dad was on a flight to Memphis, my uncle said “I guess I’d better go get him.”  My mom responded, “I don’t want you to go get him.  You might lose him again!”