My Cousin -- the Sooner Geek

So tonight I spent the evening with Doug Carson, my cousin, from Norman, OK. I haven't seen him in over ten years and now here we are, adults and all grown up. Doug has been married for ten years and has two daughters. Holy shit. Little Douglas is a dad...I have memories of kicking him out of my room in the middle of the night when I was about nine and he was six. I made him sleep in the hallway. And now, he's in San Fransisco on business and drinkng a beer with dinner. We chatted and caught up as much as we could and then I took him on a tour of San Francisco--down Lombard Street, over to the Palace of Fine Arts, through the Presideo to my favorite spot under the Golden Gate Bridge. Then over to chinatown where we ate at House of Nanking...not a diet dinner. We had the onion cakes with peanut sauce, lettuce chicken (that was filled with thai basil, yum!), and nanking sesame shrimp (lil' doughnut battered shrimp with yam potatoes on the side). Then we walked around North Beach--past the bookstores and strip joints. The Hungry I has a new sign, with a woman kicking up her leg. It was wonderful to spend the evening with my cousin, and interesting to me that although we don't really know each other--the fact that we are blood related and look a bit alike--that in some small way I miss him. I miss all the years we could have been closer. Family is funny that way...no matter how long you go between visits, there is a certain comfort level there. And that's just kind of nice.