SEPTEMBER 201 4 SUNRAYS | 77
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THE GRASSHOPPER
EXPERIMENT
Submitted by Jeanne Lubey, N10
Every other year in June, our four
children and their families assem-
ble for a bi-annual family reunion.
This year’s reunion may go down
in family folklore. I’ll call it “The
Grasshopper Experiment.”
We met in Orlando, Florida and our
9-year-old twin grandsons packed
insect cages for the trip. One eve-
ning, the boys came in from the
patio, each carrying a cage full of
grasshoppers. Our first thought
was to tell them to take those nasty
things back outside; tobacco-spit-
ting insects sure don’t belong in
the house. Instead, I heard myself
say, “You know, some people eat
those things and I’ll bet we could
Google a recipe.” Immediately, the
adults grabbed their cell phones
and laptops to check for recipes.
Son Dan is a chef. This was a new
challenge, and upon hearing of the
recipes, he got right to work. We
gave Dan the name “Chef Hop-
per,” and I offered the boys $2 to
try one. Our granddaughter and
her mother were totally disgusted
at the thought—the rest of us were
hysterical with laughter because
Chef Hopper was already busy in
the kitchen and the boys were right
there assisting Uncle Dan.
First, Dan froze them for 15 min-
utes, and boiled them for 7-8 min-
utes. The heads, innards and legs
were pulled off and out, and they
were washed thoroughly. Finally,
they were fried in butter and cov-
ered with melted chocolate. He
served them on a paper plate in
the living room.
The boys gobbled down four hop-
pers each; their Dad took a bite,
jumped up, ran to the sink, spit
them out and washed his mouth
out, all the while yelling between
fits of laughter, “I can’t do this, I
can’t do this!” I did try one—not
good! The twins were paid the
promised $2. We had such a laugh.
Family gatherings are recipes for
great memories.
I have so much to be thankful for this
Grandparents’ Day. On July 3, 2014, I
experienced one of the best grandpar-
ent moments I could ever imagine. I was
absolutely thrilled to have all my grand-
children visiting at the same time which
included: Matt, 18, Mike, 16, Brooke, 8,
Steven, 6 and Maria, 4.
Our relatives came to Texas from all
directions: My dad, Bill Benton, flew
fromOhio. My oldest son, BrianWebster
and his family, drove from Kansas. My
next son, David Webster and his family,
flew fromMongolia, halfway around the
world. My daughter, Debbie Perry and
her family, drove from Round Rock, and
my brother Rodney Benton and his wife
drove from Arizona.
It was also the first time my three chil-
dren and their families, along with
my dad, were all together at our home
in Sun City and it was the very first
time my dad ever met his two youngest
great-grandchildren. There were four
generations having a wonderful time
together over the 4th of July holiday,
which included lots of hugs, pictures,
stories and food.
On top of that, we also celebrated my
dad’s 91st birthday with a decorated
cake, ice cream, balloons, presents and
a Happy Birthday banner. He had such
a good time that he has decided to move
to our beautiful Sun City in the very
near future. We plan to have many more
memorable moments.
July Reunion
Submitted by Janice Boak, N62
Relatives came from near and far to help the Boaks celebrate the 4th of July holiday.
