Fun with the family

The night before we were leaving Gatlinburg, Ian broke down and started crying.  He didn't want to leave Tennessee or the family.  He kept telling me that "it just felt right" being there.  He tried hard to convince his father and me to let him stay an extra day or two and fly back by himself later.  Dad and Rita had extended their time away and there was actually a bed and grandparents who would be sticking around if Ian was granted a chance to do what he wanted.  Given that just a day later Ian was missing school anyway for the Yom Kippur holiday it was very tempting.  But, we came as a family of 4 and we were leaving as a family of 4.  

Family is important to Ian and he couldn't get enough of being around all the relatives.  It was Ian's suggestion that we do one of those "Old Time" photos.  For anyone who hasn't been to Gatlinburg, the downtown area is filled with dozens of Old Time photo places.  There has got to be at least 20 of these type of places within a 6 block radius.  It's quite crazy, but I guess there is a high enough demand to warrant that many which can stay profitable.

After dinner one evening we decided to do the photo and the 11 of us walked in to a nearby shop.  I can't remember the last time I laughed this hard or this long.  It's definitely been way too long; I know that.  I hope I can paint a picture of what was happening, do it justice and give you a giggle or two.

The gentleman running the shop had the women follow him to the far wall of his store.  He took the men to another area nearby.  He was about to dress us and needed to hand the women in our group our dresses.  He is handing them out very quickly...one, two, three, we are all holding dresses to put on.  We look at what we've been given and we are all shocked at how ugly these dresses are.  We ask the guy (pretty much all at the same time), "Can we please have a different dress?"  He responds instantly, "No, don't worry about these dresses.  You won't see the colors in the photo.  It's all black and white.  Just put them on."  So we put them on.  We are not happy.  These dresses are UGLY!  Rita's looked like she was wearing a red Victorian dress with tacky gold trim/tinsel and black lace all over it.  She looked like a walking Christmas tree.  Meanwhile, I refuse to keep going with the dress I was given and start flipping through the other dresses on the rack.  I find a dress I can live with and put it on.  Rita, Lori, Meghan and Samantha all follow-suit.  There are dresses everywhere!  We weren't stopping until we were happy with our selection.  Even Sam went through 3 dresses before finding one she liked.  The only one who was happy with their original dress was my niece Rachel who is almost 3 years old.  She couldn't believe "how pretty I look!".   

In the middle of the big dress shake-up, I realize the guys must be up to something because the shop owner who was helping the women had long given up on us and moved on.  I look over and see the guys getting dressed.   Actually, they are just standing there and having layers upon layers of clothing given to them to wear.  Not one of them is complaining or questioning what they are given.  No one is  speaking of any displeasure over what his clothing looks like.  They are the anti-women.  This is when I start laughing and can't stop.  Ben has a cowboy hat on and has started walking with a swagger.  Ian is putting on a holster.  Jeff is being given a vest and a scarf.  There is not one word coming from any of these guys.  

I only wish I had video to record the situation.  It was a true social commentary on how women and men are very, very different.  And it was hilarious!

Here's how the photo turned out:

Doing this photo made Ian very, very happy.  He loved getting to dress up and play the part.  A great time was had by all.