 |
| A Fagella Family Barbecue |
Summer 2019 is unofficially underway with a busy Memorial Day weekend. We had the opportunity to see family and friends - and remember those who are no longer with us. We began the weekend with a trip to visit family in New York.
Uncle John and Aunt Yvonne invited the Fagellas to a weekend barbecue on Saturday. Little did the know that this casual family event would turn into a full-fledged family reunion when everyone agree to come. It is rare for everyone to get together, but all of the Fagella brothers and sisters made it to New York. The Virginia Fagellas, who were determined not to get caught in traffic, set out early Saturday morning for New York and decided to spend a few hours at the New York Botanical Gardens (which happens to be near Uncle John's house) before the party started. It was a lovely day to spend wandering the gardens and stopping to smell the peonies....particularly after a 5 hour car ride. he next stop: Uncle John's.
 |
| Lucy, Joe, Mary, John, Tom & Loren |
|
A Fagella family gathering is always quite an event. There are always large amounts of food and you never know which way the conversation is going to go. This gathering was no exception. The topic: DNA testing. James recently took a DNA test and was recounting the complex lineage of the family. There was some concern that he had exposed other members of the family inadvertently (several people recalled hearing about a recent cold case that was solved when a relative took a DNA test, resulting in a murder arrest of a cousin). Others were concerned that the government may now have James' DNA. Others were more intrigued about the Middle Eastern links as well as links to Jerusalem (this caused one anonymous family member to claim the Fagellas were direct descendants of Jesus). There was also discussion about food - including Aunt Mary's potato salad (there was enough for 100 people) and whether it is proper to cook hot dogs in beer (Uncle John did not do that). There were attempts to get Uncle John to do his legendary snoopy dance (he claimed memory loss), that also included Aunt Mary attempting to dislodge him from the chair (he was chair dancing). We reminisced about Cousin Christina and Uncle Joe. There were lots of laughs and a good time was had by all.
We returned to Vienna on Sunday morning (after spending the night in New Jersey) so that Anna could make one of the biggest events of the year - Viva Vienna. This is the place to see and be seen for the middle school crowd and Anna was looking forward to it. This event is dreaded by parents. The weather is usually sweltering. The crowds are huge and it does not take long to spend a lot of money. This was the first year Anna was able to go solo with her friends. Mom and Dad dropped her off on the way in from New York and she spent the afternoon in sweltering long lines for rides with her friends. She had a great time. Joe & Theresa also had a great time as they did not have to wait in the lines with her. We concluded Sunday with a neighborhood cookout. One of the topics of the neighborhood was who went to Viva Vienna as those neighbors with grown children gleefully told others how they no longer had to go. One neighbor recounted how they tried to hide the event from their kids by not driving near the area the week before, only to have the school send a flyer home. Thankfully Viva Vienna comes but once a year.
Memorial Day featured a concert by the Vienna Jammers on the town green as part of the Viva Vienna festival. Anna performed while Joe & Theresa assisted with hauling equipment for the show. After the concert, Joe, Theresa & Anna headed to Ms. Be's for a barbecue. This was a fitting way to spend memorial day as there was a group of Vietnamese military veterans visiting Mr. Phancy and sharing stories. It was also a day to remember Ms. Be's daughter, whose birthday was today. As always, Be outdid herself with incredible food. It was great to see her beautiful gardens and enjoy delicious food. Retirement clearly suits her (even though she says she misses the children). Anna concluded the day with a trip to the pool with friends.
A big thanks to all of our hosts over the weekend for the great gatherings. Happy Memorial Day!
Comments