Remember the sky you were born under,
know each of the star’s stories.
Remember the moon, know who she is.
Remember the sun’s birth at dawn, that is the
strongest point of time. Remember sundown
and the giving away to night.
Remember your birth, how your mother struggled
to give you form and breath. You are evidence of
her life, and her mother’s, and hers.
Remember your father. He is your life, also.
Remember the earth whose skin you are:
red earth, black earth, yellow earth, white earth
brown earth, we are earth.
~ Joy Harjo
We had the Terry family reunion today at Natural Bridge. Lots of dad’s first cousins, 26 in fact, came for fellowship. Even the Michigan crew drove down to be with us. Their last living uncle, my grandfather Terry’s brother I.B. – a WWII vet – was able to be with us as well. He’s 93.
I was able to get a shot of IB and the youngest member of the family, Gunnar Clay Perry. Gunnar’s not quite a year old yet. It was a toss up who the bigger star of the day was, but I kind of think it was Gunnar. We fawned over him so much it freaked him out a little. But, that’s the Terry’s for ya. There are so many of us we can be overwhelming for even the most seasoned adult. You either sink or swim. Now that Gunnar’s been initiated, he’ll be fine…or he’ll need therapy by the time he’s seven.
I had the best time today. I really missed my first cousins who weren’t with us, but I couldn’t have enjoyed the ones who were there any more than I did. I love them all so much. The young kids were in the water (no snake bites, though I don’t know how). The old folks were in the shade. And I was running around with Jerry (the camera) getting to know some of dad’s cousins like Drucilla and Eunice. I had so much fun with them. We talked about boobs and wrinkles. Drucilla wanted to know my secret for looking so young. I told her to gain weight. Eunice got real sick last year. It’s a miracle she survived. It’s a miracle so many of us were able to be together today, actually. Mom worked really hard on her health so she could enjoy the day. Folks drove hundreds of miles. People cooked and sweated and laughed and enjoyed one another. There was even a rousing game of Bingo. I didn’t see a single person without a smile on their face. What more could you ask for?
august 2, 2016 | the outhouse: where art goes
[…] cousin Eunice Ambrose. You met Eunice (above right) and our other cousin Drucilla (left) back in 2015 at the Terry Family reunion. Then, in June of this year, when dad and I had our daddy/daughter day, we stopped to see Eunice […]