It was a 20 some-odd hour drive from Wilbur, Nebraska to El Paso, Tx. I hadn't seen my cousins in years and I'd never met my cousin-in-law. It was easy to get reacquainted and I realized early on that Larry, my cousin-in-law, was as ornery as the rest of family. We drove straight through and arrived in El Paso around 7:00 a.m. Grandma was still in bed and we went in to see her. When I said hi to her, she asked who I was. She wasn't senile, I think she just didn't realize we all came together. I called Steve as soon as I could. We weren't able to talk very long, but he called me back when he was able. Later in the day, I was trying to take a nap and Steve called me. He'd just received a call from his doctor: he had cancer of the esophagus. It was very difficult to not hop a plane and head back to KC, but I knew Steve was going to Nebraska with Susan, so I wouldn't have been able to see him, anyway. I tried to focus on being of service to Mom as I knew she had enough on her plate. The rest of the family started showing up throughout the day. Most of them stayed in a motel, I stayed with Mom and one of Mom's cousins parked their RV in front of the house. Mom had to go to the funeral home with my cousins to make arrangements. After a while, my sister realized that dinner wasn't even started and she coerced me into helping to get it ready. One of my Mom's cousins pitched in and not only fixed a side dish, she kept things lively. It turns out she's quite a character, too.
