A Road Less Travelled

Last night was the second annual Night of the Burning Plum. It was somewhat less elaborate than last year, but just as enjoyable.

The evening was made a little trying by the fact that Justice had woken up from his nap badly and was just kinda mad at the world for the whole evening. It’s nice at times like that to have friends who have children and are very accepting of children because Justice’s attitude and noise bothered Seth and Crystal more than anyone else.

We, the Lansberrys, Kathey and Jon ate an enjoyable meal together of pork, mashed potatoes, Waldo Dwarf salad (Waldorf salad was so named by Toby) and a really yummy salad with two kinds of cheese in it. I love Kathey. After dinner the children were excused until dessert time and the grownups drank margaritas and talked. Kathey helped serve up ice cream while Theresa prepared the traditional cherry and plum sauce. When everyone was once again assembled she poured brandy over the sauce and lit it on fire. Watching someone spoon flaming sauce over ice cream never gets old.

After dessert we packed into the living room and the stories began. The children’s stories were, for the most part, much improved than last year. Moriah had written her story down and so read to us about how Wilfred’s mother was given a plum at his birth and what she had to go through when the plum went out. Also, she and Arianna had worked together on the first part of a story and I hope they remember the rest of it for next year. Samuel L. told us how the dragon got his fire and Elsie got up twice, but kept forgetting what she was going to say. I have no idea what Samuel B’s story was about, but he really had fun with it so I was glad. Even Noah went and stood in the story spot and said, “Once upon a time.” Crystal had put together a remake of “Twas the Night Before Christmas” featuring plums. James told us about Einstein’s greatest discovery which was that plums will burn forever. Before Einstein had a chance to tell anyone, though, he died. Jon told us about two families who had been feuding for years and how a plum brought them together and made them friends. My story was about a burning plum who was raised by a family of geese and found friendship and a home with them even though he kept catching their nest on fire. Seth gave us an encore of a funny story he had told last year about a plum that fell from the orchard of the Sun only to be eaten by a rabbit. And then he told a very sweet story dedicated to the women in his life about five knights who gave their lives protecting the burning plum from an invading army. At the end all of the knights died, but the plum was safe because things that are precious are to be protected and preserved. James ended the evening by talking about the meaning of the Burning Plum which is friendship and it was getting very serious and very sweet until he said something like, “Because the Burning Plum is inside of each and every one of us. Which is why we have heartburn.”

We ended the evening by thanking God for the friendships He has given us and asking him to preserve them through the years.