I was writing to my cousin in Florida who was talking about visiting her 80 year old Dad and throwing him a party. I told her how great that would be. If nothing else, her son would remember it forever. This launched me into a whole thing I shared with her and now am sharing with you -

"That's going to be wonderful, take lots of pictures, if nothing else your son will remember it his whole life. I can still remember a Dillon Reunion (my mom's maiden name was Dillon) my Mom and I went to in 1949. In my mind the house and everything is still there as it was in 1949. When in fact the house has burned down and theres nothing left but one large Oak Tree. Everything is all overgrown. The only thing that's left is the old family cemetery on top of a steep hill in which three generations of Dillon's are buried. All around the little cemetery are these blooming wild purple flags or irises (beautiful). This was the second time in my life I ever visited the cemetery (1st in 1949 and 2nd in 1989). My Aunt and I hiked up the hill slalem style sideways as it was so steep. When I got to the top and saw all those irises I broke out in a cold goose bump sweat because I was wearing a cotton t-shirt that had purple irises on it. I'll never forget the eerie feeling I had. I was so taken by it, I was struck dumb for about 5 minutes untill I convinced myself it was only a coincidence."

Dillon Reunion in 1949
at Sandlick, West Virginia