Phillip had never been to Jackson, Mississippi before and was really looking forward to the opportunity to explore it. He had a cousin, Jerry, who had grown up in Jackson and had always mentioned some of the intriguing cultural aspects and attractions. Jerry moved away when he went to college and was now living in Boston, though he still missed Jackson and returned regularly for visits. This is related to the reason Phillip will soon be visiting. Their family is planning a large reunion picnic at LeFleur’s Bluff State Park. Phillip is a poker player and always thought this was a funny name for a park.

There were many places Phillip would like to visit and possibly see a performance at while he’s in Jackson. He had made arrangements with his brother Raul to share a room together in one of the Jackson hotels and hoped that Raul would be interested in exploring the city with him. And while it was true that Raul would in fact be interested in exploring Jackson, the two brothers had inherently different interests and tastes. They found that this was still true when Raul responded and said it would be great to see a production at the Mississippi Opera. And while they both loved music, Phillip was much more interested in attending the Jubilee! Jam since they were going to be there in June.

As it turned out, the brothers were able to do both of these and even more. The picnic was beautiful and it took place on a clear day with a gorgeous breeze. The humidity was low and it was a perfect day in the park. Phillip had a great time visiting with family members he hadn’t seen in years. He, his brother and their cousin Jerry spent a few nights out on the town and Jerry showed them the sights as he reminisced about his early days. It was nice for Phillip to finally have images to go along with the numerous stories Jerry told about his high school days at Wingfield High School. And he had plenty of them from his glory days playing football for the Wingfield Falcons.