a loving plea to our far-flung family to share and save our stories

Howdy Family, 

it's been waaaay longer than we would have liked since Brenda and I tended this blog.  Life's "crazy arabesques" claimed our attention, but we really want to get back to collecting our stories - old and contemporary, anecdotal and historical, reflective and imaginative, factual and speculative... the stuff that captures how we were, how we are, how we wish to be, along with what we're doing, and thinking, and planning.  

Lots has happened since our last Great Aunts missive...


Our niece Claire and her husband Ron gave Kim and Mark their third grandchild when Aaron Edward Mark Rollock was born in London on August 27, 2017. 

On February 09 this year Nephew Matthew and his Nikki had twins, Bella and Noah Mark, to join Sophia, making them a family of 5, living in Bedford in the UK. Does anyone know of any other Punnett twins?

Niece Zen gave little Blaze a brother, Aatlaz, on April 24, 2018. Here she is during that pregnancy, at an exhibition of her paintings in Saint Vincent.

Sister Bunny's son Christopher and lovely Karina had Baby #2 on January 31, 2018, in Ft. Myers, Florida.  Asha Sabine O'Brien, joined the family just shy of the second birthday of her sister, Morena Quinn.

Sister Lynn's second grandchild, Adalynn Rose Jane Hurst, was born to Carla and Eric Hurst on December 29, 2017 in Acworth, Georgia. Ady celebrated her first birthday with family in Trinidad.

Carla, Luke, Lynn, Eric & Ady, Toro, Luke's daughter Gianna, Laura, Wendy, Malini

Roger and his Raneen are making Brenda a grandmother in June! 

I think Betty Jane may be the first great- grandmother of our generation!  Amanda's daughter Megan gave birth to Sebastian, pictured here, in about June last year, in Ontario, Canada.

Nephew Tristan, who lives in Miami, Florida, visited Patricia's clan in Ireland and again in Spain, making us very happy that Generation # 11 are keeping family bonds alive while frolicking in "foreign". 

Brenda tells me that Benjamin Sky was born in October 2018 to Alexandra and John Luke, joining River and Lily Rose in their clan.

There have been losses, struggles and illness too. 

Uncle Angus Fraser, the family holy man, left this world on October 7, 2018. He was remarkable in his warmth and goodness, and dedicated his life to the service of mankind, accomplishing much, and leaving a legacy - in quantifiable terms and in hearts around the world.  I'd love to see Cousin Betty Jane or Patricia do a post on that treasured gentleman.  His exit leaves the elegant and feisty Laurie Fraser Tuddenham as the one remaining member of our parents' generation.  Auntie Laurie, keep on keeping on - we love you!

I remember hearing that when Britain declared war on Germany, a telegram was sent from the people of Barbados to the people of Britain saying something like, "Go ahead, England, Barbados is behind you!"  I think we've all been sending that message to beloved Cousin Patricia as she has been going through the health mill with her trademark humour and courage, and with the loving, devoted support of her very own posse of Husband and children. Go good, Miss Paartrisha!

Much is missing from this attempt at filling the time since we lapsed, but we intend to do our best to stay current, while capturing old stories, and we hope that family and friends of all generations will pitch in with us.  Please, do help us stay au courant...

One love,

Lisbie  

below is an article on the importance of family stories you might like to read (reprinted without permission, of course...)

Pass on the family stories 

March 27, 2019

Melissa Martin, author, columnist, educator, and therapist. She resides in the US.

People in all countries tell stories about their history. Communities are hubs for talking and listening. Every person has a story, and every person is a story. So families are full of stories.

“When families are invited to share their stories, folktales and culture, there are a number of benefits for children, families and schools: Encouraging students to talk with family members about their cultural heritage shows respect and interest in students’ diverse cultures, making students and families feel more connected to the school. Families are offered authentic, academically oriented ways of being involved in the school without themselves needing to be highly proficient in English or numerous academic subjects.”

Every family has a book full of stories. Account of births and deaths—and the colourful happenings in-between. Each generation is unique. Tales are photographs made up of word pictures. Of course, some yarns are embellished or exaggerated. Also, some stories are full of laughter while others are full of tears. We reach back into our memories and relive the times of the past. Family history is embossed in our DNA.

Recently, my aunt Judy told me a story about the time Lydia, my grandmother, square danced for Rosalynn Carter. I guess the Carters visited Portsmouth, Ohio, during their campaign for the presidency. Lydia bowed and kissed the hand of Rosalynn after the dance ended—and the lady from Georgia bestowed a glowing compliment upon the pioneer woman from Appalachia.

Moreover, who can forget our witty and wacky relative, “Uncle Beanie.” He bought, sold, and traded antiques in Scioto County and beyond. As a kid, I was mesmerised by his house full of goodies. It looked like a store of treasures. Moreover that man could play a tune on the piano! Without taking any piano lessons, he learned to tickle the ivories by ear. His sister, Joyce lived next door. She wore red lipstick and sparkly jewellery. My cousin Kim and I adored Joyce and thought she must have been a former movie star.

My grandmother Hila was the queen of the garden. She ploughed, planted, and produced veggies fit for royalty. Her fingers picked, snapped, and cooked the best green beans in southern Ohio. Snuggling under my grandmother’s homemade quilts on a cold winter’s night and examining the different pieces of fabric in the warm daylight are fond memories of yesteryear.

Patchwork quilts lay at the foot of every bed. She used remnants and scraps of material from old clothes and sheets for quilt pieces. Every homemade quilt told a story. Instead of ink and words, the fabric’s colour, texture, quality, pattern, style, and stitching give an account of why, what, where, when and how. Hila hailed from the backwoods of Kentucky.

In her book, “Appalachian Elegy” bell hooks (name not capitalised by her choice) wrote of life’s harsh realities in a collection of poems inspired by her childhood in the isolated hills and hidden hollows of Kentucky. History lives on when our words are written in a book.

Storytelling is as old as the mountains and valleys. While hunting or gardening, families shared stories. At the dinner table or the bedside, families shared stories. Spoken stories served the purpose of informing, entertaining, educating and passing down beliefs, values and ideas.

“Family stories are tales about people, places, and events related to the members of our immediate family or their ancestors. Family stories casually chatted about at the dinner table or regaled again and again at family gatherings can parallel great epics or notable short stories.

The memorable stories of our lives and of others in our family take on special importance because they are true, even if everyone tells different versions of the same event. These tales are family heirlooms held in the heart, not the hand. They are a gift to each generation that preserves them by remembering them and passing them on.”