The Legacy

     I have been writing this blog since early 2012, it has taken a lot of time to become comfortable on the computer, I have made lots of mistakes. Let's face it, technology is not something I excel in, but I try. I'm on face book which is another major accomplishment that also comes with problems that leave me frustrated to say the least.
     Face book was something Linda started mainly as a means to keep up with family especially after MJ was born. She seldom responded to any postings but she would sometimes call me in to look at something someone had posted.
     My sister got me started writing this blog, I wanted to put down all of the family stories I could remember before I forgot them, I wanted my boys and their kids to know where they come from  and maybe pass along stories to future generations. When Linda's health started going down hill I was determined that MJ and Matthew would know their Grandmother if only in my memories. I have come to think of this blog as my legacy to future generations of a family started long ago.
     I am face book friends with maybe 25 people including several cousins and one remaining uncle. I enjoy reading the postings they make and even go so far as to comment on them. One of the most interesting consequences of reading the postings of my relatives are the little tidbits of family lore that I pick up on from time to time.
     Case in point - Sister Vickie shared a story about our Grandmother Ruth Wade, Granny had a habit of saying "well I swan" whenever something would go wrong. This story brought back memories for me and I remember Granny saying just those words, for her it was a matter of upbringing, she was raised in a time when it was not nice for ladies to use foul language so when she might stub her toe instead of saying "damn" she would say "well I swan". Grand Pa could be aggravating at times he made her swan a lot. Uncle Paul is Granny's youngest son, he will turn 90 in a couple of months, his body is showing his age but his mind is as sharp as a tack, he recently commented on a post about going barefoot, he said that Granny would not let them go barefoot until someone brought her a butterfly, the theory is that if the weather was warm enough for butterflies it was warm enough to go barefoot. This little tidbit was news to me but thinking back it fits right in with the way people were raised in the 1930's, the main thing to remember is that this small look into the past would have been lost had not Uncle Paul responded to something he saw on the computer.
     I never knew that my Aunt Elizabeth was not raised by my Grand Parents, I remember seeing her and her family most weekends when growing up, I never realized there was even any strife in the family until a couple of years ago. My cousin Gayle, her youngest daughter, told me the story of how Aunt Elizabeth was sent away to be raised by someone else at a very early age. My Dad was always considered the youngest in the family but in fact he had a younger sister who became sick one day. The baby became so sick that Granny sent Aunt Elizabeth to a neighbor, down the road, to get the neighbor lady to come help Granny. Aunt Elizabeth was just a young girl herself, she became distracted in some way and didn't get to the neighbors house in a timely manor, by the time the neighbor arrived the baby had died.  Granny evidently was distraught to the point that she sent Aunt Elizabeth away, I understand this was not what Grand Pa wanted. This lady by the name of Bertie, raised Aunt Elizabeth and another girl to adults, on her death Bertie left everything she owned to Aunt Elizabeth and the other girl, for whatever reason Granny went to court to have the will annulled, she was not successful. This story was really surprising to me as this was not the Grand Mother I knew but it did answer a question I had never gotten an answer to - why did Gayle's older sister Jo Ann not want any Riggan's at her funeral. This story forced me to see my Grand Parents in a different light.
     Gayle had another tidbit to pass along about Aunt Elizabeth, it is a dash of wisdom one seldom hears anymore. Seems Aunt Elizabeth was fond of saying "if you can count your friends on one hand you are lucky, if it takes both hands you are lying to yourself".
     Getting back to Uncle Paul, I think I would have liked to have grown up with him as a friend, I can easily understand why Granny and Grand Pa had grey hair so early in life. He recently divulged that he lied about his age and joined the Tennessee National Guard when he was 13 years old, he could field strip and reassemble a Thompson Sub Machine gun in mere minutes. An earlier comment found him telling my niece Tina that he used to babysit her Dad and I when he was a teenager, said babysitting duties included the changing of dirty diapers.
     I think it is important that these little morsels of history be remembered and cherished for future generations, it would be a shame if they were to disappear with the passing of a generation.