Back from the 'Big Z'

My Dad has always referred to Zealandia as the 'Big Z'. Despite having to drive 10 hours within a span of three days, it was a great weekend away catching up with family - some that I haven't seen in over ten years. I heard that there were 97 descendants of my Grandma and Grandpa Ashton there, and a total around 240 from my Great Grandparents - Edward and Evelyn Kidd. It is astounding really that I am related to all of those people, and furthur astounding that that is only a small drop in the bucket. Many weren't able to attend. Friday night we had a memorial service for my Aunt Shirley who passed away in January, at the Zealandia Cemetery. I had never been but it was pretty neat to see. Burried at the cemetary are not only my Grandparents, but also my Great Grandparents, and quite a few other relatives I never had the privelege of meeting. Saturday saw us playing bocce ball, doing kids races, eating pancakes, doing a potluck dinner, and as we always do, a family talent show. So here is a joke from my family reunion - to you.

One of my family members gets up on the stage and is pretending to drive a car (yes, we have a stage at the Zealandia hall). An 'officer' pulls him over and asks for his name. The driver says Fred. The officer wants his last name but 'Fred' explains that he doesn't have one. The officer obviously wants an explanation. So Fred says that his name used to be Fred Dingaling. The kids made so much fun of him at school that he stuck to himself and studied. He ended up going to Medical school and got his degree so his name became Fred Dingaling M.D. Pretty soon he got bored of being a Doctor and went to Dentistry school. He graduated, got his degree and became Fred Dingaling M.D. D.D.S. Again, he got bored and fooled around with his assistant. He became Fred Dingaling M.D. D.D.S. with VD. The Dentistry Board (I believe he used the acronym CCA) found out about the VD and took away his DDS. That left him with his name being Fred Dingaling MD with VD. Pretty soon the medical board found out about the CCA taking away his DDS so they took away his MD. That left him with Fred Dingaling with VD. Then the VD took away his Dingaling which is why his name is only Fred. Har har har.

I hope you all also had a fantastic lovely weekend!