This week Carson, my dad's sister's husband passed away. I fondly recall all of the Howard family's get-togethers. Holidays - Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and Fourth of July - we would get together and eat, chat, sometimes an after-feast snooze, and then dessert and chat some more. Carson was always congenial and happy. His amiable and easy going ways made the visits relaxing. No fuss, just sit out on the picnic bench (when in summer), eat venison, talk about mushroom hunting, and eat Donna's yummy potato salad and peach cobbler.