SOL26: August 18: Wondering

It's Tuesday and I am sharing with my SOL Community. about a bit of my life.

I am lucky to swim a lot during the summer. Early in the summer, I don't know exactly when, I noticed a pair of sneakers on the edge of the parking lot. They were worn, but certainly not worn out by any means! I wondered if a young child had one of those, "I can't walk any more," moments and was scooped up by a parent who did not notice the dropped shoes in the ruckus! 

Those shoes were still there the next time and the next time after that, pretty much in the same position. I wondered why the lawn people did not move them to the lost and found?  I wondered if they were expecting the owners to be searching for the shoes?  I wondered if the child was stuck wearing Crocs all summer? How could they run and climb?

It's been at least a month, maybe more, and the shoes are still there. I wonder if the child is wandering barefoot this summer or if the parents just headed to DSW (a shoe warehouse) for replacements because kids feet grow like weeks? I wonder if the parents are still searching their car, carry bags and closets?  I wonder if they have anything left to give after the summer heat and rain?  I wonder if they will soon be in the landfill. 

August 17: Ethical ELA: Darkness

Today's Ethical ELA Host, Joanne Emery, asks us to think of a memory of being in "nature," in the woods, at the ocean, on a mountain trail and reflect on the images and that moment. I focused on beach memories at first and then I thought about Joanne and her Forest Bathing! I reflected on those hikes with my dad to fire towers and with my children, long ago, on Sunday afternoons. This moment of family lore should have became a lesson to us all on hiking responsibly!   

Laundry, dishes on hold,

I followed eager hikers

Trudging through protected

Ice and snow remains, family

Banter entertaining us until

Our path disappeared into 

Darkness.

It may have been hours, or

Minutes as time was lost to

Internal panic, crushing cold,

Only the sound of our breathing,

Our steps cautious, labored until

A glimmer in the darkness. 

August 16: Peaceful Coexistence

Today's Ethical ELA Host, Patricia Franz, offered a poem about finding a bear in her kitchen from the bear's perspective! She asks us to write using literary devices to create a contrast between what we believe and reality.  I'm using perspective, looking at something through a different lens. I was thinking about this fly that was annoying me for days until I went after it when I started this poem. 

I'm unsure how  

Food is readily available, how

Temps are sustainable, how

Others don't join me, how

Traveling here was easy, how

We coexist for days, how

People become unhinged, how

They want us gone, even dead, how

Peaceful coexistence can end.

I wonder if I was thinking about the article I just read about Ice enforcement at airports? 

August 15: Sunflowers

I am digging myself out of a writing slump to participate in today's Open Write hosted by Denise Krebs, an amazing poet who hails from the Mojave Desert. She asks us to write an ekphrastic poem inspired by a piece of art or a photograph. I tried to do a 2-4-6-8, syllable-counting form about the strength and hope I find in sunflowers that stand tall after storms tear through their fields.

Facing 
Sunshine, hoping
Living, standing tall, proud,
Bright reminders to look up.

August 14: Called Up

As I danced around the pool doing the Congo (sort of) one of my students (classmates) commented about my energy! I thought about her comment as well as keeping busy as I crawled into bed long before the 10:00 news that night! I have been busy, and one of the things that has been on my plate is our system of justice, conceived in England during the Middle Ages and referred to over the pond as Common Law!

Like many others, I sigh deeply when that ominous green postcard arrives in the mail. Why me? Why now? But, it came for me, again, and I went, again, doing my part, reluctantly, even though in the end, I never really did anything besides drive there, pay for exorbitant parking, and try to keep my emotions in check in uncomfortable chairs. (I must be vague!) I am left with a multitude of thoughts about the time absorbing, cumbersome system as well as the people available/chosen to serve in the role of deciding the fate of peers. I wonder if my own experience represents a cross section of potential jurors and how often decisions are made outside of the courthouse?

Juries of our peers is required

By our Constitution based on

Life in the Middle Ages

Random selection from

Voter lists they say

Some never called

Others called

Like me

Why? 

August 8: Lucky

In these parts, houses are separated by just a driveway; thus, neighbors notice visitors, comings and goings. After an early morning trip to bring recyclables to the curb and a brief discussion with my neighbor walking her dog, I'm thinking about how lucky I am. 

We began with pleasantries about the hot-humid weather and how she was feeling after a recent health scare. Then, she said wistfully, "I saw the kids writing with chalk on your driveway the other day when it was so hot you could cook an egg on it.  I realized they are getting bigger, and probably didn't have too many summers left to enjoy those sorts of things. They seemed so happy to have found a spot of shade and celebrate summer. You are so lucky and I am a bit jealous, as I missed all those years when my grands were growing up so far away."

I acknowledged that I am lucky and we parted ways; yet, her words lingered as I thought about luck and the tangled path that brought me to those chalk drawings.  I also thought about all those things I am lucky for that happen beyond my driveway like the long strolls for greasy hamburgers and ice cream. I thought about the coffee filter dresses and endless pictures as well as birthdays with little people who are indeed getting bigger. I smiled thinking she was right. I am lucky.

August 2: August

It arrived softly, yesterday, this grand month worthy of respect where the summer season reaches its pinnacle of wonder with fruit and vegetables reaching their prime in the hot and humid ice tea filled days. It's the one where many try to squeeze out memories and moments amid miles of traipsing from pillar to post while the promise of a new school year looms. Parents pack into Target and Walmart with lists, filling carts with hopes for learning. For many years, it heralded in a busy month of birthdays and anniversaries where cake loomed at every corner.  It's quieter now, but memories fill gaps between veggies and goodies. 

Memories, my Dad, Aunt Lora, 

Who started the month with corn, 

Along with my son, born as they partied,

Who will celebrate with his own brood,

Along with Karen, in California, 

Vince, in Florida, who shares with 

His grand, Catherine, remembering

My Sister-in Love, Barbara, 

Father-in-Love, Tony, while memories

Good times at Friendly's, with Karen, Laura,

Carolyn, who hails from over the pond,

Of course shares the month with 

One of my beloved grands, 

Whose chocolate infused vacation

Celebration is likely to be sweet,

While I'll celebrate with an adventure,

Grateful for warm tomatoes and peaches,

Fresh picked corn, garlic scape hummus,

Perfect pistachio ice cream,

July 30: Mama Forte

"I just got back from hiking the Rain Forest in Costa Rico," she said softly in the same tone one might use to say they had soft serve ice cream last night,  We were standing under the hair dryers in the locker room acknowledging the very hard but wonderful class we had just endured was contributing to stronger bodies than we might have had when we were busy balancing kids, careers, life. I listened in awe to her tale of hiking down a cliff with a rope and a guide. To be honest, I am not sure I could do it, but I sure would want to try! 

"He called me Mama Forte when we got back to the top!" she smile proudly as I clapped for my friend who has worked hard to assure that the fluff-muffins many of us sport as we get older do not mean we have to stop trying to be as strong as we can possibly be. 

I was smiling as I emerged back into another day of gray drizzle at 9 AM even if I was headed home to some more mopping. I may not have hiked in Costa Rico, but I did the same class as my friend, Mama Forte!

SOL26 July 28: Mop, Mopped, and Still Mopping

 I'm writing with the SOL Community today. 

It was yesterday, but they were predicting it for today even though the skies had been overcast and the air smelled like after football practice. I even checked Accuweather and the storms seemed to be rolling to the north. Then, it started to rain and to thunder and there was more rain mixed with hail and even more rain. Cars, roads, small bridges, power, and the internet were all lost; yet, miraculously, no lives were lost in this third "Storm of the Century" in 10 days! My issues can all be fixed with a mop. 

I headed into the basement, cautiously,

After not finding water the last two times

I was really feeling optimistic, so I went,

Barefooted, with a tiny flashlight scanning

Finding just what I expected, the need for my mop.

I returned with boots and mopped. 

I flopped into bed, dreaming of mops. 

The power is back and it's raining again,

I am on a break, but I have been mopping. 

Grateful that's all I need!

July 26: Remarkably Bright Creatures

Most of the time, films do not capture the magic of a well written novel; however. as I sobbed and grabbed another tissue, I remembered powerful science and skillful actors make a wonderful story incredible.

 

Cephalopod science was not woven into the biology classes of my youth, but the idea of octopuses unscrewing jars, recognizing people, and planning escapes hit me hard. My emotional reaction may have indeed been aggravated but the fact that I had grilled octopus for lunch!  In my defense, it had been years since I had that delicacy and it will be a long while before beans are not my protein of choice.  

Remarkably Bright Creatures earned four Oscar Nominations and is currently on Netlix if you, like me, didn't catch it in theaters. 

July 26: Musical Bliss

I've been experimenting with water colors this summer and listening to a wide range of music; yet, it's clear that creating fabulous art and making wonderful music sit outside of my skill set. 

I sat in this perfectly acoustical room at Lincoln Center last night listening to a wonderful concert where music written by Debussy and others filled my senses and soul.  It was one of those nights when we were so immersed in something so wonderful that time and space stood still and yet disappeared. I was left thinking about the power of a conductor to bring an orchestra together.

Eun Sun Kim Conducts Poulenc

She waved, pointed and flared knowing each

Violini, cello, French horn's note n

Neded to be merged into a chorus 

Supporting that magnificent flutist whose sound

Still reverberates in my head along with images of a

Mesmerized crowd whose intense focus was on 

Capturing the moments of musical bliss.

July 25: Celebrate Today

I wish I could live every day in gratitude

Without worries for the next problem, issue,

Grateful for the small moments where a 

Fairy Princess leans in for a feathery hug, a

Precocious Tween realizes he's taller, a

Conversation might be frozen in time, a

Summer breeze is set on repeat, a

Wrinkle is just a marker of time, a

Checkmate call results in a full-body smile, a

Celebration of living is unending, 

Today, I am going to try.

July 24: Celebrate

Birthdays, are a time to celebrate and also to reflect on memories and to anticipate the future, 

One of my grands, with sparkle galore,

Is no longer so little, in fact she's four!

Not long ago, she was a tiny bundle of love

Now she's a strong, determined gift from above.

She's already making her mark in the world

With glitter, ruffles and energy unfurled.

Her future is as bright as the sun is on this day,

She's forging ahead on her birthday.

She's already come a long way from preemie size,

I treasure each day 'cause time flies. 

It's also the birthday of a special cousin to me,

Kind, supportive, he's a main branch on my tree! 

It's no surprise they share this special date 

Their leaves are bright, they are reasons to celebrate.

SOL26 July 21: Bye Lettuce

I'm sharing a little bit of my life with the Slice of Life Community today, Like everyone, I have been avoiding some foods lately!

Looked longingly at heads piled high,

Wanted to grab them, but let out a sigh,

88 cents called me, I grabbed pricier food,

Thoughts of chef salad and BLTs collude,

$4 zucchini, $7 chard,

Can be cooked, raw is barred.

Not a chance for a salad bowl,

Bye bargain lettuce and bankroll.

Ethical ELA: July 20: Excessive GIfts

On this last day of Ethical ELA Open Write, Glenda asks us to write a clerihew form poem which is four lines long with rhymes at the end of lines one and two as well as three and four. Typically these poetic forms are about a person. I am taking a bit of poetic liberty and writing about a "gifted thing." 

When the gift is grandiose, excessive, or appears extreme,

It likely is illegal, has problems, or perhaps is part of a scheme!

You can't buy love or respect with money, planes, or diamond rings,

Sooner or later your may discover someone is trying to pull your strings! 

Ethical ELA: July 19: Waves

In  today's Ethical ELA prompt, Glenda Funk asks us to  consider looking at various definitions of wave. She suggests we could explore the human wave gesture or a beach memory. My wave poem is different, but based on my experiences driving through a day of intense rain yesterday!

Local forecast was dire, red flag waving ominously,

Yet, I waved, to my neighbor, bravely securing an umbrella,

I patted the coffee, water bottle as the wipers waved

Slowly, in anticipation for the first wave ahead where a 

Deluge would deter them from trying to wave away gallons

Flowing from waves of furious clouds before the

Thruway would disappear in waves of tears beating on cars 

As if they were kettle drums, as waves of terror gripped my

Soul knowing the destination was worth wavering through 

Waves of rain attempting to power wash everything in its path

SOL26: Still Learning

Today, I'm sharing a small, wonderful slice of life even though my heart is heavy with concerns for the precarious state of our world.  

Over the years, I have attended many universities and earned multiple degrees. I've learned to play checkers, Canasta, croquet and even pickle-ball. Yet, I somehow missed learning to play chess. I am pretty sure the husband taught the kids to play while I was either doing dishes or laundry and was too exhausted to add anything to my short-term memory storage facility. There was an after school club that met right next to my classroom for years and I thought about going, but there was always paperwork or lesson plans calling.

So when a grandchild did not accept my I do not play statement and exclaimed, "I'll teach you right now," I swallowed my fear that this was going to be hard and allowed an eight year old to teach me the basics. It was pretty hard, at first, and those horses who hop and jump as if they were real stallions cost me my first game pretty fast. The second game lasted a bit longer until I got shredded by that queen whose wrath I underestimated! 

I found myself later that night checking out chess basics and creating my own study guide before wasting an evening on the porch playing an online version ONLY so I can be a better competitor for someone who was in pull ups not that long ago. I'm still listening, growing, and still learning!  

July 13 In My Opinion

This is a post that shares my opinion about current events in our country. I acknowledge there are differing opinions. This is mine. 

I haven't shared my writing for a while as I have grappled with (in my opinion) one concerning news report after another resulting in a cascade of paralyzing fear for our future. Brutal bombs, baseless arrests, belligerent statements, and bloodcurdling accusations bombarding the consciousness at a pace that precludes response (in my opinion). 

Yet, the arrests, deportations, and murders of people, like Lorenzo Salqado Arauio in Texas last week and someone in Maine today,, who have not done anything wrong other than working and living in this country at this time is quietly escalating across the country (in my opinion). The targeted people are predominately darker skinned and Spanish speaking (in my opinion). Frankly, it was hard to celebrate the milestone birthday as this tragedy (in my opinion) unfolds upending lives and destroying the American Dream that has shaped my heritage. 

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness

July 4: American Experiment

Birthdays, are a time to celebrate and also to reflect on memories and to anticipate the future. As we sweltered on the eve of our nation's birthday, I thought about a Godson who arrived just before the fireworks and is now celebrating adulthood.  I thought about his great-grandmother, a real firecracker, whose watermelon and blueberry infused day was often spent swimming and picnicking. I thought about the Bi-Centennial when I spent the day on The Mall before and an evening watching fireworks at Lincoln's feet. I also reflected on fireworks from a window at Hershey Medical Center where my uncle fought for life and hauling all kinds of treasures from the Stormville Flea Market. 

Locally, the heat dome has impacted many picnics and outdoor activities this year. Political strife also clouds many celebrations and provides an ongoing worries. There is also a clear reminder, this year, of the caution of George Washington, Ben Franklin, and even Abe Lincoln who were concerned about, and warned us to protect, the American Experiment. Our future as a country has been and will be determined by its people. Something about his time of year and birthdays seems to be a reminder we are stronger as a complex and diverse nation, infused from the beginning by brave outsiders arriving whether or not they were /are welcomed! 

Indigenous, immigrant, eager,

On boats, planes, foot, excited, 

Some penniless, escaping,

Seeking freedom, new lives

Some against their will,

We all pursue

American

Dreams

Not one

Rather, many,

Same, different,

Wanting a chance to

Earn, learn, live without fear

To participate, celebrate,

The American Experiment 

SOL26: June 30: What Were They Thinking?

I am sharing as part of the TWT Slice of Life community today.  

It's summer and it's NJ warm, not Arizona hot. I thought I had dressed appropriately for the doctor appointment in a skort and white tee. I wore my sandals because shoes would be extra weight on the scale. The waiting room was packed with the humans who either had the same Monday morning time slot, were shipped in from the Jersey Shore, or were serious about trying to fool the scale! They wore bikini tops and shorts that just grazed the parts you should keep covered. I tried not to stare. I tried to be jealous of their weight loss strategies. I tried to rationalize they were going to have to get undressed anyway!  I really do not know what they were thinking? 

As I went through a old photos (my June project), I found photo evidence of Queenie, my Grandfather's pet fox from the era when my Mother was a young girl!  I had heard reference to the "pet" and now I have photo-evidence of such a critter. I did check with AI, and it would appear it is now illegal to own one in most states. They are wild animals with high energy and will (according to Google) mark their territory and attack for protection if you know what I mean. Yet, here are photos of my mother (the little one) and her sister, and my grandfather, Gerow, with Queenie!  Seriously, what were they thinking?

I thought about all the other what were they thinking moments just today, like what were they thinking with that Reflecting Pool mess and what were they thinking when they rented MSG for a wedding decoy (wedding)? Then, I thought about how my Grandmother and my Mother would have been appalled that I wore a skort and plastic sandals (even if they were Oofoss) to a doctor appointment! Perhaps, many of us could use a reminder to think about the impact of our decisions. 

June 29: Questions

This month, I have been plowing through family photographs and memorabilia. I am left with questions about people who are no longer earth-side. 

Like this clearly formal wedding portrait from my Aunt Helen's wedding in about 1947. The men, including my dad, are wearing topcoats! Did she somehow "hit the lottery" because the farm had recently been sold even though others had no money for college? Did she have a much better secretarial job than I thought? Did Uncle David, the groom, fund the fancy wedding? 

Like this signed 9 X 12 picture from the 1984 Mondale-Ferraro presidential ticket! I did remember The Aunts were big time Kennedy supporters with memorial ash trays and other trinkets around the apartment. I realized the Irish-Catholic-young-good-looking-Camelot pull there. However, I missed the financial and clear support of this political ticket with a female in the VP seat! Clearly and happily ahead of their times! Was it the common Orange County country roots or the shared Brooklyn-Queens life? I am proud of my Aunt Lora for pushing respect for women in all the Houses of Washington even 40 years ago!                                                                                                                      

Now, so many more questions

Now, I can only wonder and imagine,

Now, there are no answers.

June 28: Hikes, Bikes, and Swims, too

My memory was that my own children spent a good chunk of their free time care-giving for grandparents and helping with chores around the house in the days before they explored working on their own. As I have been going through the photo memories that I have, I have decided they really had pretty good, if not wild and crazy or extravagant childhoods!  

Evidence to support my claim begins with planned or even unplanned hikes often spurred by Uncle Vince with cousins where paths were explored and laughter filled the woods. More than once, to be honest, we were unsure of our way out of the maze of black diamond and triangle labeled trails, if not totally lost! This image (Uncle Vince, Tony, me, Aunt Barbara, Della) was likely taken from a person who was far ahead of the rest on the hike with a camera! 

Sometimes, we hiked on magical trails where the wonders of nature were abundant and the majesty of the earth was everywhere. More than once we swam in Bash Bish Falls even if you were not supposed to do so!  More than once, I held my breath as we hiked or even mountain biked on steep and windy trails where the views were almost worth the work and worry.

My photos would suggest there were lots more afternoons spent with nature than at amusement parks and in restaurants!  I wish we had taken you on trips to explore at bit of the world while we could have done so. I also wish I had known then, how fleeting and wonderful those days would be in the chapters of our story. Yet, there was more time spent together doing-outdoors-activities than my now fleeting and tear-stained memories might suggest. There were smiles and there was laughter in our family as well as love. 

If I am honest, it may have been those early hikes and camping trips with Vince, Barbara and their growing family, before we had children, which shaped our parenting in a quiet manner. In those days, before my job was Mom, I might even have, one time, had a trunk full of Twinkies and been remembered, forever, as The Goody Queen.  (Sometimes, the memories are so powerful you really do not need pictures)

Keep them busy and outdoors may have been the plan, even if we never articulated it! Perhaps, I may even be remembered as an OK parent! 

Hikes, bikes, swims, laughs, smiles,

There really were more than I remembered!

Seeds planted at Cranberry Lake

June 27: Cousins

One of the emerging themes from this month long picture dive is the role of cousins in shaping our lives.. We put enormous energy into our jobs and maintaining our lives; yet, we are all replaceable at work, but not to our families. I could fill this page with endless pictures that represent poignant moments between family members, especially cousins!

Like the image of my cousin and I in the bamboo art exhibit finding a moment of happiness after my Dad's passing upended our long planned trip.  Or the image of my cousin and I at his son's wedding where our "Irish roots" were clearly smiling!

Or  image of these cousins sharing a tender moment with their cousin, a flower girl, at another cousins's wedding even if one of them was heading across the pond in mere hours for a semester abroad! 

Or celebrating another cousin's wedding crowding into the photo booth because they were having a rare and special moment together! Or, just sharing a moment and pleasing a parent after sharing the excitement on some, probably football or soccer or lacrosse field!  Over time, the complex demands of merging careers and families and distance usually grows, but so does the love.

Grateful

For cousins

Who share our

Stories, roots, in a

Way no other can do! 

Inspiring, encouraging, all that might be, 

Even when we are far apart for

Long stretches of space and time, held together

Deep roots, strong branches, sinewy genetics, lifelong awareness, familial love.

June 25: Celebrate

The last week in June is a big one for celebrations like last night's send off for high school graduates filled with all the mixed emotions of joy, pride, and realization of the potential of a new chapter that began as they flipped their tassels. Those celebrating will not remember the words of any of the speeches, but they will remember how they felt nervous and happy and unsure and excited by the future as they celebrated. I focused, as best as I could, on that joyous celebration while acknowledging the potential for our world standing on those risers! 

My mind did wander, at one point to a similar late June evening, just three years ago when the graduate's sister stood on those same risers and to that time years ago when my daughter graduated from high school in a similar ceremony where friends also gathered to celebrate their stories that were really just beginning. I also remembered watching the graduate's mother celebrate her high school graduation and remembered the illicit while sandals I wore to my own, long ago, while acknowledging the Lion King, Circle of Life moment! 

Celebrate 

The chapters

Along the journey.

June 24: I Barely Knew Them

I'm plowing through old photographs this month and realize there are some relatives I barely knew.

Like my Dad's oldest sibling, Uncle Phil (Philip) who had already left the farm for Northwestern University before my father was born. He worked as an engineer for  NYC Transit and lived in a small brick house with his wife, Aunt Nettie. They had no children, but shared their narrow home in Brooklyn with a disabled niece. I think we visited twice and remember the smell of his cigar filled the house and made me feel sick. They shared boxes of chocolate candies wrapped in foil. When I was in high school, he spent several months before he died in a NYC hospital ward. My mother asked me to write a note to put in a card to send each day. After he passed, someone found a note gifting me with his black, side-mirror-less, rear-mirror-less, and radio-less 1954 Ford sedan. I had just gotten my license and part of me felt like the luckiest person in the world as I decorated it with big flower stickers as if I was a real hippy. Even then, I knew I really did nothing to deserve that gift. 

Like my Dad's second oldest sibling, Uncle George who had also left for the Army (I think) before that last child arrived. He married Aunt Madelyn and settled in his hometown working in the infamous NY State prison of Sing Sing. I remember going to their very modern (to me) ranch home one time, but I was young and have no idea why we were there! They had one child, my cousin Sheila, and spent their retirement playing golf and raising her children in Florida. Through stories, I know my uncle thrived for many years after much of his intestine was removed and outlived two pacemakers! After my son was born, I found my son's given name was Uncle George's middle name. Coincidentally, they were gifts from God.                                                                        Uncle George, Sheila Jimmy and baby

SOL26: June 23: Semi-quincentennial

 

I'm sharing with the Slice of Life Community today. Lately, news of the Reflecting Pool has me remembering the 200th Birthday celebration,

In the days after dinosaurs roamed and before cell phones, I lived just over the Potomac when our nation was celebrating its 200th birthday. (I realize writing this confirms any doubt that I am aged to perfection!) 

We left our car parked along a side street somewhere in Virginia and walked, I think, over the bridge to visit hoards of food, craft, and trinket vendors who were hawking their wares along the Reflecting Pool. I must admit I never noticed if it was clean or dirty, but I remember the reflection of the Washington Monument was perfectly centered in the enormous pond. 

As the sun prepared to set that day, there was music.  Perhaps it was a band, but maybe it was piped over loudspeakers. The nation was, at that moment, in a peaceful state of affairs after the decade of Vietnam and the Watergate Scandal. While the economy was struggling and there were few jobs to be had, I think we were optimistic. (Perhaps that was young love?) We watched the fireworks at Lincoln's feet filled and walked home. 

I wish I wanted to go back and visit for the semi-quincentennial. 

June 23: Changing Directions

 When I started this month-long-journey through a box of photos from family, I thought I would quickly scan and toss. I started remembering people and places, while reaching sad dead-ends when I could not identify so many leaves from my family tree. I am now sure that even in this AI infused information age, if we do not write down our stories, they will be lost! 

These are my Mother's people and her words are as important as the images. I did have to use Google to determine that Guilford 1916 (upper image) was likely the seaside town of Guilford, Conn. It is the Quick family and the tall young man in the back would become my Grandfather. I'm left to wonder what this struggling family was doing all dressed up so far from their rural NYS farm? A wedding? A funeral? A vacation seems unlikely?

Thankfully, the lower photo is labeled Grandma (Great-Grandma to me), Grandpa (Great to me), Aunt Evie, Uncle Sam, and Uncle Percy. I never knew any of them, but I do know that Percy was an early lineman for the local electric company, Central Hudson. When my daughter was doing a summer internship there, she learned from a wall honoring him that he had invented safety protector used long ago at the top of electric poles!

On the back of the page in perfect script, my mother wrote, "1912, Margaretsville," which would indicate my maternal Grandmother's hometown. Here's where it gets squirrely. My mother writes, "(her) Grandma, Grandma Patten and Dominic?" I think this might be my grandmother's half brother but all this is sending me down the genealogy rabbit hole, where all this is headed. There is no way this project is going to be done in a month! Sigh. 

J

June 22: Call of the Sea

This month, I am capturing old photos that are important in sustaining the memories of people who have shaped the complex image of family in a way that combines both images and stories.

It was a wonderful long weekend in Vero Beach, where they had already established a retirement community and an enviable circle of support. It had been bitter cold back in NY, but shorts and tee-shirts were THE garb there! Over dinner, there were tales of relentless golf matches and planning for an upcoming Valentine's Day Party. They celebrated every event because they all matter. 

The smell of the sea and signs for seafood were everywhere and yet it was the familiar pull of family that filled the weekend with joy. I had seen pictures and I had heard tales of their place at the sea, but I had no idea they spent the entire weekend on the edge of the sea where the rhythm and healing power of the waves were steps away. I ventured into the sea even if it was February as they watched!  

It was my only trip to their Place at the Sea as Barbara would be taken by a horrid strain of the flu not long after. Yet, Vincent has continued to hear the Call of the Sea and find retirement love and warmth in the warm breezes and salty air. While I never made it back, I still can hear the Call of the Sea and I've carried the reminder that every birthday and significant matters and deserves its moment to shine.