Today is officially the beginning of the 70th Yamboree here in Gilmer, Texas! I am not usually as excited about this as I am today. I am really, really excited this year because I have friends and family coming in for the weekend! I can't wait! What could be more fun than walking around a rural town square that has a carnival set up and eating junk food all day. Also, going out to the fair grounds and looking at all the livestock, arts and crafts, and decorated yams. Standing in the autumn sun (if you're lucky, not the autunm rain) and watching a parade that is far too long but still getting pretty excited when your school band passes by, even though you don't know anyone that plays in it now.

"I can't wait for Brooklyn to experience her first Yamboree! I know it won't be many years until she and Jack will be too busy to leave their life in New Braunfels and come to east texas, so I am going to enjoy every minute of it now.

Our son-in-law, Nick is also going to get his first taste of the East Texas Yamboree. It will probably be a little harder for him to "catch the magic", in between all the riff raff, carnies and crowds. He will probably also be brutally subjected to meeting a bunch of strangers and hearing stories that he has to pretend are intensely interesting. Thankfully, for him, his parents are coming also! We can't wait to see them again! The thing about the natives of the Yamboree is that we can't always tell that others aren't having as much fun as we are!

We also have old friends from the area coming back to Gilmer for the Yamboree. I wonder what that experience would be like. I don't know if that will ever be an experience I will have, but I think it would be a mixed emotion. I do remember my first yamboree when I was a junior in high school. When I first heard about it, I thought I was the brunt of a joke. I soon found out the yamboree is not laughing matter for a gilmerite. :)

We will really miss Heath and Liz, but through the cutting technology of the Yam Cam, maybe we can say Hi to them in "real time"! Then, hopefully next year Liz can experience her first Yamboree!