Natter 39 and Holding
Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.
My grandfather would have enjoyed his hugely.
I'm so glad, and I'm glad that you were able to know that.
Where was your grandfather's service, and what was it like? (Something good, I'm guessing, or it wouldn't be a pleasant memory for you.) Would it have made him happy?
Yeah, it would have. He was buried in the family plot in a beautiful park in Kansas City, and then the memorial service was held in his church the next day. My uncle read a long piece that all the siblings (my dad's generation) had put together, and the three oldest cousins read a few of his favorite passages from Scripture. I read the Beatitudes. Then there was a long section when people just got up and spoke about him and the impact he'd had on their lives.
I've been trying to write this paragraph for half an hour now, and I'm not saying what I want to say, but: he would have been really honored and touched to see how many people were there: family, neighbors, Habitat families, friends he'd made through his church or his work, black people, white people--people whose lives he'd actually changed for the better. And I learned things about him I'd never known, like how he joined an interfaith group in the 60s who were dedicated to eradicating racism in their church communities, and by extension, in the larger Kansas City community, and started a program to create libraries in local prisons. It was really awesome, in the full-of-awe sense of the word.
and I'm not saying what I want to say
What you did say was really beautiful... He sounds like quite an amazing man.
Back when I was in college, one of my dorm mates would startle you by telling you what she really cherished about you. It's something most of us just aren't in the habit of doing.
At my eldest aunt's 50th wedding anniversary, all the sibs told a story or two of their interaction with the courting (since some were 13 years younger, it was hilarious. Apparently, my mom and her little brother interfered in the formal asking for-my-aunt's-hand with grampa.) But the thing that struck me was that there are so many more of these stories, these appreciations. My grandfather wrote 20 pages of autobiography. Stories burble up out of casual conversation. Hell, I didn't know of a half uncle and an exhusband (other side of the family) until I was in my teens.
But what I know is this: I remind my mom of hers, and from what I hear? That's a damned honor (she had a masters in math. In 1930. And would converse on any topic presented.) Grampa Floyd was a terrible courter, nearly food poisoned my grandma with reheated beans on a wood stove (partly why she married him, she said. Otherwise, he'd kill himself. He said he was the only one who would tolerate her bossiness. And he LIKED it.) We still have the wedding ring quilts gramps' family (which included 4 dead wives) made for them. It's history. It's mine.
TAR: That was an excellent prize for first place. And seriously, for that team, where
all four team members no doubt drive
an amazing one.
I am also so very ready
for Team Florida to go -
also Team Jersey
and I'm so very sad that the
Boston
Team
is gone.
Back when I was in college, one of my dorm mates would startle you by telling you what she really cherished about you. It's something most of us just aren't in the habit of doing.
I should do more of that.
Thanks, Cass. I try not to idealize him beyond who he actually was, but "who he actually was" was an extraordinary person. (As we were leaving the memorial service, my dad turned to me and said, "I hope they [the people at the service] don't expect all of us to be John Pritchards!")
Back when I was in college, one of my dorm mates would startle you by telling you what she really cherished about you. It's something most of us just aren't in the habit of doing.
I have a friend who does that too! Now I try to do it more often.
It's history. It's mine.
Yeah, this. One good thing about this summer, in the midst of all the sadness, was the sense of being so fully involved with my family and our history: hearing all the stories, looking through old photo albums and scrapbooks. The best picture of my grandfather: sixteen years old, dressed in a suit and tie, on a family vacation through Yellowstone National Park, standing on tiptoe to feed a black bear!
TAR: sumi, I totally agree about the teams.
TAR: I thought this was a pretty
crappy leg, overall. Badly structured, I mean. First off, what's up with the start times? I find it hard to believe they all made it in within an hours' time. And the challenges? The thirty miles difference in distance pretty much determined which bus you were on. Which, ok, that sometimes happens, but when the next challenge is a one-by-one where there's really no chance for any time to be lost or made-up, it's pretty crappy.
Next week
- the race car thing? That's pretty fucked-up.
God I hope that
odious Italian family goes out next time.
Jessica, on TAR, I completely agree, on both your comments.
I should do more of that.
See, I think that too. And yet, you know what? It's hard. It's hard to articulate, it's hard to just not come off as creepy! Kelly didn't do the generic "I appreciate you," she explained what it was about you that touched her. Hell, I can't quite remember what about me she said, but what I do recall is an overwhelming sense of value, care and love. And that's all that counts.
