One Very Special Weekend

If you read my book you certainly have heard of the Whatley’s. When I was growing up I was always surrounded by Whatley’s. They lived next door, they lived across the street and they lived down the street. Whatley’s were everywhere.

Julian and Sue Whatley lived across the street. They were the ones with the swimming pool and when they built that pool their backyard became the neighborhood hangout. And I have a lot of testosterone charged memories of summer afternoons at their pool. I usually made sure I was in charge of making sure all the girls had their suntan lotion rubbed on really well. But the Goddard boys were hanging out at that house way before they built their pool. Julian and Sue were very close friends with my mom and dad. Their daughters, Debbie and Donna, are like our sisters. And Julian and Sue are like our second parents.

Those kinds of relationships only happen over a long period of time. I call them cumulative relationships. A lot of unforgettable small moments that together eventually become long lasting memories that become a big part of who you are today. You all know exactly what I am taking about.


This weekend I was reminded of a few of those moments. Julian and Sue joined the entire Goddard family in the North Carolina mountains this weekend. And we had plenty to talk about. And plenty of time to laugh. And plenty of time to remember. The photo here is just one of the sessions we had sitting on the front porch overlooking the Great Smoky Mountains. Julian made a comment on the way home this afternoon and I quote, “One great thing about going off with the Goddard’s is you never have to worry about trying to think of what to say. The conversations flow freely.” And so do the stories. And so do the laughs. And so do the memories.


Many moons ago our two families vacationed together and camped at a campground about 15 minutes from where we were staying this weekend. We decided to ride over and check it out. After much discussion, we figured that we camped there first in 1965, which would be 42 years ago. In an amazing journey back in time we found the campground and identified exactly the spot where we parked our camper. And we saw the lake where we fished and the lake where we swam and the creek where we played as kids. We even visited with the campground owner Betty, who along with her husband Tom, ran this campground when we were there 42 years ago. She told us Tom left one morning 32 years ago and never returned. Maybe he found greener pastures with a younger woman at another campground. Poor Betty is not sure what happened. I am not sure either.

But what I am sure of is lifelong friendships like we have with the Whatley’s are worth far more than silver or gold. And I am also sure I was born at the perfect time in the perfect place and into an incredible family. And people like Julian and Sue Whatley were a major part of it all.

This was absolutely one very special weekend. And one the children of Ed and Naia Goddard will always remember.

_________________________


Top Photo: Front L-R, My sister Kikky, Julian and Sue; Back L-R Me, my brother George, my wife Kathy, My brother in law Ken; [George's wife Jaye took the picture].

Middle Photo: My brother Mac is in maroon shirt. His wife Annis is in pink next to him.

Bottom Photo: Poor Betty is in red in front. You can figure out the others from the top photo.