Ididn't see one pair of striped bib overalls at the dumpling feed. I didn't see one political sweatshirt or cap. I didn't see anyone smoking (chewing, maybe, but no smoke).

I was at my "cousins and others" biannual reunion.

I've got 34 first cousins on my mother's side of the family. They have propagated over the years to the point where there were about 100 of my blood relatives sharing a meal in that small community of Westfield, Iowa.

I'm sure that group was the largest in the town of 191 citizens. The streets were quiet as they normally are, but the community hall parking lot was overflowing. The place is the same, but the crowd is a bit different from the crowd I experienced many years ago when the church was able to hold them all.

I, my wife and daughter traveled south from this

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