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You're Never too Old to Own Magic Pajamas
It was a good weekend.
Three weeks ago was my Uncle Doug's 70th birthday. He went out to dinner with his family at a nice restaurant and didn't think another thing about it. So he was pretty surprised when he walked into the Beach House at Pebble Beach and over 70 of his friends and family members were standing there clapping and cheering to wish him a happy birthday and give him a good roasting.
We had a nice lunch and heard some great stories about my uncle. He's been a track coach since his 20's, and there were people he'd coached and coached with there, there were high school and college friends, neighbors, children and grandkids, and us. We had a good time poking fun, and despite the "roast," there were a lot of heartfelt comments and more than a few sniffles and choked-up moments. My uncle's a pretty great guy.
As we were reminiscing on the way home, I commented to my dad that I thought one reason we got along so well with that side of the family is that they're all pretty silly, like us. We have a great sense of fun that most people would probably consider pretty childish. In fact, we can be downright shameless about displays in private or public. A lot of the stories and jibes about Uncle Doug had to do with his personal absurdities and those he'd passed onto his kids. I think my favorite was when my cousin Amy read off her list of "Doug-isms": "You're never too old to own magic pajamas."
In general, I've always been interested in family. It's always been a priority. I like to hear about where my ancestors have come from, the stories of generations before me, to have a little sense of history. That's why it was really surprising to hear from my dad's cousin that my great-grandmother was part Blackfoot. I knew a lot of stories about my great-grandma Bessie. She'd lived a long life; when she was young traveling across the country in a covered wagon, with her family and a man who was freed from slavery after the Civil War. A few decades later, she was watching Neil Armstrong step out onto the surface of the moon on television. But I'd always assumed that I'd come from a pretty standard mish-mash of European immigrant stock.
In a lot of ways, it doesn't change much in the here and now. It doesn't change who I am, and even though I might qualify for the Dawes Roll, I doubt I'll do much about it. But it's something I'd like to know more about, because it's part of the story of my family. I got a chance to get a little connection to my Welsh heritage and English heritage when I was in the UK. It'd be cool if I can find out more about the possible Blackfoot heritage.
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