That’s brother Kenny and his wife, Vickey, top left. She
probably saved him from himself. They live an idyllic life outside of Athens,
Ohio. She’s a nurse and a gardener with at least two green thumbs. He plays
poker with his buddies in his renovated barn where, as is true in Vegas, the
house controls the play. He wins.
To their left are siblings Dan, Andy, and Jen. All of them
live in California. Dan is an attorney who loved to read Erma Bombeck stuff
when he was a little boy, and now vehemently denies it. Andy is a cool cat
musician. His sister, the always beautiful Jennifer, a Mom to three equally
beautiful children and wife to a guy who either showed good judgement in
avoiding this reunion or those two weren’t together yet. They live among
majestic redwoods.
Their parents, sister Sue and Hubby, Barry, are seated in
front of them. No longer together but both are close to the kids and grandkids
and both lead happy fulfilling lives. My sister Sue is the most sensible and
balanced person I know.
My oldest sister, Judy, is standing with David, radiant in
her blue dress. She’s a talented painter who makes me laugh like no one else
can. Well, Sam Kinison used to make me laugh to the point of gagging too, but
he’s gone now so Judy has no competition. Judy and David have been married for
107 years and are still going strong in Augusta, Ga.
Below Judy and David, their son Jim, is in his Navy blues.
Always a stand-up guy, Jim leads by example with his awesome wife, Karen. They
do crazy triathlons, run barefoot across oceans and continents, and then chase
around three exceptional kids at home. Both are contenders for the coveted
“Best Parents on the Planet” award.
In the front row, relegated to rug duty, sits Tim, Ken and
Vickeys son. He’s a computer expert who makes wheelbarrows full of money and is
husband to a wonderful lady who frequently has to remind him that he’s an adult
now and needs to act like it for the sake of his two very accomplished
daughters.
Daughter Ruth works full-time with a screenwriter,
volunteers at the local dog shelter, often sends me pictures of dogs that I
would adopt if we lived in San Diego, sponsors a wonderful Syrian family, and
takes Sociology coursework in college. Carla and I love her hubby, Andrew.
Always the most consistently upbeat guy in any room.
Debbie, Jim’s little sister is a busy teacher and Mom who we
rarely see because she doesn’t waste her time with Facebook and actually lives
a real life, free of social media. Incredible. All I hear are good things.
Debbie is holding Hannah, who was probably not wearing
diapers or anything else under her pretty dress, the same one she was wearing
at an outdoor party a few months later when she climbed up on the picnic table,
squatted in the middle as everyone commented about how cute she was in her
pretty dress, and took a dump. In a video I filmed, you can see happy faces
circling the table, talking and laughing, and then turn to horror and disgust.
Lots of rapid movement backward after she dropped that centerpiece. Like Dawn dish
soap on an oil slick.
Hannah was, and still is, a fearless gypsy, who has
certainly dropped steamers in rural fields all over the world.
Hannah and Ruth are, without question, my closest friends.
Carla and I are in our 41st year now. She lives a
stream-of-consciousness lifestyle as I fill her pockets with pebbles so she
doesn’t float away with the wind. She works in patient care, two, three jobs at
a time. Crazy, brutal hours.
By the time this picture was taken, I had served 4 years in
college, 4 in the Air Force, and 8 years at a high-end air courier company.
Working my way up from a graveyard shift customer service guy to VP and GM of a
large spin-off messenger service in Washington, DC, and NYC. For a while there
I flew the Eastern Shuttle back and forth several times a week. High pressure
& lots of commuting. I ran distance in those days, that helped alleviate
the stress.
Mom & Dad are both gone now. Good people who walked the
walk. She led a life of privilege, outliving Dad by 18 years. After he had exited stage left and she was in
her mid-80’s, she called me to ask if it was OK with me if she remarried. “Of
course, Mom. That’s awesome!” The caveat? She said: “But he’s an older man.”
Clay was a wonderful guy, about 4 years older than Mom. They traveled the world
together, Antarctica, the Galapagos Islands, Europe… and held hands like young
kids everywhere they went.
Love is a true fountain of youth.
All in all, a nice family. No bad behavior sufficiently
extreme to make the news. No jail time, no severe drug, alcohol, or mental
issues. (I mean, everyone is crazy, it’s a question of degree. Right?) No early
deaths, no tragedies. Just a big group of good people living productive lives
under the radar and making more people in their image.
My point being, that we all hear so much negative stuff, you
know “The world is going to Hell” kind of thing. But I don’t see it in my
family. I don’t see it in the families of most of our friends. I see happy
grateful humans and a younger generation that is as bright, educated and
involved as any generation before.
I believe we are, and will continue to be just fine, even in
another 31 years from now.
