Family Reunion 2011

The Family Reunion of 2011

July 31 was to be a hot day in a hot summer enveloping the largest part of the mainland USA. I arose and left Ann Arbor for the 180 mile trip to Niles, Michigan in the predawn hours. My intention was to grab a leisurely route, avoid as much traffic as possible and to mosey into Niles before the reunion started. That would give me a chance to take a walk around this old town. If I had ever been there before, I did not remember it.

I got my wish and rolled over the few hills of southern Michigan as calmly as could be. I got breakfast at 9:30 at a road side diner. As is generally the case, the meal was more than humans should eat so I had to leave much of it on the plate. They had fresh squeezed orange juice which was fine but it came in a 16 ounce glass. I drank it but wish I hadn’t had all of it.

I arrived at Niles about an hour early and chose to stroll around town. It was a bleak walk in a bleak town. The heat had arrived and the town had the air of a Tennessee Williams play. Everyone on the streets had the water logged armpits and beaded brows indicative of the days before air conditioning was common. The largest difference between 2011 and when Williams last wrote a sultry play was the number of mullet haircuts I saw on the young men. I had traveled back in time but not so far back as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

The reunion is held at Pepper Martin Park which drew my attention to the Gas House Gang member of 80 years ago. While have a blast of weekend baseball fever, I imagined the St. Louis player, Johnny Martin must have been from Niles. Apparently though, two different Martin’s carried the same nickname.

All of my siblings save one in Colorado and one in Arkansas (I think) came for the day which doubled as a birthday for my dad. Here is the cake to serve as evidence that I am not making this up. So the two Tennessee sisters arrived and in good health. Jeanne came from the eastern edge and Betsy from the western side. Betsy’s husband Lonnie drove up with them and their daughter Angela, husband Jeremy and their kids came from the Chicago area. Julia Hernandez came from Chicago as well along with George and their three kids. Mary and Tony came from the Detroit suburbs and of course I represented Baltimore. Katie came down with Mary and Tony from Brighton.

Then there were about 40 other relatives and families from all over the place. I did not meet too many of them as I wanted to reconnoiter with siblings and parents more. I did some mingling and met Earl Koch from California and Fred from not too far away. I met others but while I remember their faces and our conversations, their names left me during the week. The whole event was filled with a lot of loud talk and laughter. We ate plenty and wrapped up plenty of leftovers.

Most everyone there was from my generation or the one before me but there were very few people in their 20s. There were kids who could be my grand kids by age but in fact are not. Lonnie is great with the little ones and he took to entertaining the young ones.

It was good to revive some memories and contacts with siblings and parents. We all moved away so long ago that our lives are established far from where we grew up. Even the folks moved away from the stomping grounds of our youth 30 plus years ago so a visit to their house revives no nostalgia though it is always a good visit.
Well for the most part we all have our health (though Katie needed some help based on arthritic knees) and humor. The health that we do not have doesn’t need this forum to describe). We are all getting old now. The youngest sibling is nearing 50 now. My parents are in their 80s and a few of us in our 60s.

All the time I hear stories of people who had hard childhoods and dysfunctional families. I don’t know what all that means. As a kid I did not get everything I wanted and got everything I needed. When I had the wherewithal to get what I wanted I did. A year ago I talked to several people that I went to elementary school with and many felt scarred by that experience.

Maybe I too am scarred by elementary school and upbringing and am just too dumb to notice. My own memory is that the holes I have found myself in were generally my own doing by bad decisions or not seeing the writing on the walls. My parents and siblings are far more a comfort to me than anything else. It was good to see most of them.