FAmily reunions?!

Many of us have long lamented the tradition of family reunions demise. Some of my most cherished memories come from those family holiday reunions when I played, and even hunted with, my cousins. One didn't even contemplate missing a holiday reunion party. In the beginning it was the playtime, whichever farm the reunion was held on would have a special uniqueness that just couldn't be missed. At one uncle's farm it was the long path leading back to the woods that facilitated our playing 'road' games' .. sometimes I got to be the state policeman, but greater still was getting to play the road-robber; at another uncle's farm swinging, [some of the braver ones jumped] from the hay mow down to the center platform nourished dreams of tarzan. One uncle had a woods that was just plain out of Eden; hours of cowboys and indians were spent reenacting John Wayne movies. Then as we got older, we were allowed to accompany the men on pheasant and rabbit hunts, then after passing homebreed hunting tests we fancied ourselves 'full-blown' hunters. The hunting tests usually meant that we had begun to hunt with our fathers before being allowed to hunt with the family group; and we still had to stay close to our fathers. Eventually we came to place where as family patriarch/matriarchs left for heaven an increasing amount of time was spent spinning tales of yesteryear. Oh, how I miss those times.
Just this morning I read an AP article, 'Goodbye jobs, hello mom and dad, say young adults. A silver lining in a depressed economy? Later in the article the author says this, "this trend of kids returning home could create longer-term ripple effects in social relationships, from multigenerational family tensions to delay marriages.' Wow, what a negative conclusion! What about the possibility of familys being reunited, grandkids really learning who their grandparents are, strained relationships reversed, care for aging parents rekindled .......... family reunions - hey there's an idea, and just maybe in some cases the family dinner table becoming again a gathering of ideas and relived memories. And a long range possibility might be neighorhood renewals - neighbors celebrating together - a sense of cultural heritage redeveloping ... a new melting pot?! The ghost of the past making a reappearence to enhance a new present. Perhaps absence not only makes the heart grow fonder - but more receptive?? I'm dreaming. I would dearly love to hear about your reflections on family reunions.
You can find the article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/ap_on_go_ot/us_boomerang_kids