Reflections and Observations -- A Bright Passage from the Fantasies of Youth
to Illuminations of Advanced Maturity!
This Episode: An Homage to Family... with Gratitude!
Family Matters! Unexpectedly, my beautiful and incomparable niece, Maggie, daughter of my brother and sister-in-law, sent a note via Messenger. I don't visit Bookface very much these days, and almost failed to spy and read said communication! In the end, I'm very glad I did on the referenced occasion!
Given that many of our relatives live in distant regions of the country, and, in fact, in different parts of the planet in at least one case, it is a great joy and a privilege to have them with us when various opportunities present themselves. However briefly!
We have a grandnephew, for example... Danny... who asked to come and stay with us for a weekend. His purpose was to explore the delights, attributes and neighborhoods of Milwaukee, with the aim of determining whether this is a place he'd choose to live upon graduation when his career in medicine begins in earnest.
He's 23; we had not seen him for some three years, and prior to that not for some 10 or 11 years. Always fascinating to discover the emergent personality, likes, dislikes and attitudes. Will there be compatibility, shared interests? As it turned out, we, SweetHeart, our daughter, Bethie, Danny and I had a purely terrific time together. We watched the World Cup final on a giant screen, drank coffee and other potables, enjoyed Bradford Beach, sun and volleyball, danced at Bastille Days to an Afro-Fusion band, and devoured fine food at superb Milwaukee restaurants!
I mean, yeah! We had a great time together, the four of us. He, Danny, proved to be a delightful companion, fun, funny and interesting, confident and outgoing. He makes friends
with remarkable dexterity... Truly admirable! Sometimes we're taken by surprise, and then left with a great sense of gratification that a relative, especially one so young, could fit in with our own personalities, our proposed activities agenda.
About a week and a half later, Brother Kris and Sister-in-Law Jaynie came to town, to attend a wedding feast. Their niece, Tina, the prime object of the wedding event! Prior to their nuptial
festivities, we were able to spend some delightful times with Kris and Jaynie. It was a great treat. We were joined by Nephew Kris Stephen and Niece-in-Law Laura. The four of them were billeted at our daughter and Son-in-Law's home, the latter pair with their children sojourning at present in Amsterdam, Holland.
On one of the free evenings, we were also joined by daughter, Bethie, and Nephew Tiger with his wife, Melissa. I mean, what a joyful time we all had dining on the shores of a confluence of three rivers... Sail Loft!
My brother resides in Texas, but summers -- that is, both he and Jaynie -- in Grand Lake, Colorado where they headquarter when volunteering as "Site Rangers" in Rocky Mountain National Park. The whole point is, many of our beloved relations live far afield from our home base here in Milwaukee. As such, we seldom get to spend time with certain of them, and thus it's a great pleasure and a privilege to have them in our midst, if only briefly. Wish Alie, Tad, Coen and Lucy could have been here as well to spend time with cousins, uncle, aunt.
Kris, the brother that is, spent his working life as an engineer. Jaynie's a retired teacher, an outstanding one at that! Kris is also a terrific artist; cartooning and wood sculpting just two of his talents! In fact, he illustrated a Children's Book that I wrote, a collaborative effort. www.amazon.com!
Wait! You'd like to see an image of that fine piece of literature? Pshaw (so doggone embarrassing, not being one to trumpet his accomplishments!)... Well, since you ask, there it is, just at the left of this paragraph.
You see (getting back to the subject at hand!), it is nothing short of a gift, a rare and wonderful treat, to have our beloved family members with us from time to time, when opportunities arise. We are privileged, fortunate in the extreme to have had such a great July with various family members from Cincinnati, Dayton, Texas, North Carolina, Colorado, the Rockies... Oh, and Stoughton too, of course!
[Special Note of Dedication: The perpetrator of this writing dedicates this piece to his entire family, wherever in the country and the world they happen to hang their hats and coats. Thank YOU all. And lest one forgets... Y'all come back soon! (I believe I heard that expression somewhere South of here!)]
 |
| Bethie (left) and Danny! |
Family Matters! Unexpectedly, my beautiful and incomparable niece, Maggie, daughter of my brother and sister-in-law, sent a note via Messenger. I don't visit Bookface very much these days, and almost failed to spy and read said communication! In the end, I'm very glad I did on the referenced occasion!
Given that many of our relatives live in distant regions of the country, and, in fact, in different parts of the planet in at least one case, it is a great joy and a privilege to have them with us when various opportunities present themselves. However briefly!
We have a grandnephew, for example... Danny... who asked to come and stay with us for a weekend. His purpose was to explore the delights, attributes and neighborhoods of Milwaukee, with the aim of determining whether this is a place he'd choose to live upon graduation when his career in medicine begins in earnest.
 |
I mean, yeah! We had a great time together, the four of us. He, Danny, proved to be a delightful companion, fun, funny and interesting, confident and outgoing. He makes friends
with remarkable dexterity... Truly admirable! Sometimes we're taken by surprise, and then left with a great sense of gratification that a relative, especially one so young, could fit in with our own personalities, our proposed activities agenda.
About a week and a half later, Brother Kris and Sister-in-Law Jaynie came to town, to attend a wedding feast. Their niece, Tina, the prime object of the wedding event! Prior to their nuptial
 |
| You can just barely see us, seated on the deck of the Milwaukee Ale House on the banks of the Milwaukee River! |
On one of the free evenings, we were also joined by daughter, Bethie, and Nephew Tiger with his wife, Melissa. I mean, what a joyful time we all had dining on the shores of a confluence of three rivers... Sail Loft!
 |
| (From left, clockwise) Kris, Jaynie, Kris Stephen, Tiger Laura, Melissa, Bethie, Mary (SweetHeart) and the Perp! |
Kris, the brother that is, spent his working life as an engineer. Jaynie's a retired teacher, an outstanding one at that! Kris is also a terrific artist; cartooning and wood sculpting just two of his talents! In fact, he illustrated a Children's Book that I wrote, a collaborative effort. www.amazon.com!Wait! You'd like to see an image of that fine piece of literature? Pshaw (so doggone embarrassing, not being one to trumpet his accomplishments!)... Well, since you ask, there it is, just at the left of this paragraph.
You see (getting back to the subject at hand!), it is nothing short of a gift, a rare and wonderful treat, to have our beloved family members with us from time to time, when opportunities arise. We are privileged, fortunate in the extreme to have had such a great July with various family members from Cincinnati, Dayton, Texas, North Carolina, Colorado, the Rockies... Oh, and Stoughton too, of course!
[Special Note of Dedication: The perpetrator of this writing dedicates this piece to his entire family, wherever in the country and the world they happen to hang their hats and coats. Thank YOU all. And lest one forgets... Y'all come back soon! (I believe I heard that expression somewhere South of here!)]
Humbly Submitted, 07-31-18 -- Joel K.
