My head is still reeling from yesterday, but after having the day to digest and sort out the facts I think I can safely say there are just too many twists and turns and it all makes my head hurt. It makes Gene’s stomach hurt. I think we’ve had enough of family history to last a while, maybe forever.
We were struck by the abject poverty suffered by these families during the 1920s and 30s. Doris and Pat were born in the 30s. Doris told of being given sugar water because they couldn’t afford milk. She also told of sharing a graham cracker with her mother which had been given to them by a friend. The story is so sad, not only that they had to share a single graham cracker, but also because the friend, generous as she was, could only afford to give them the one cracker. Why do I complain about anything? There were also many stories about night clubs, drinking, and wild parties as the 30s gave way to the 40s, prohibition came to an end, the war started and the economy improved.
One of the main things we want out of this journey into the past is to hear about the lives of our parents and grandparents. Thus far, so many of the stories told have been hard to hear. But in the hearing we gain a better understanding and fuller appreciation for the people whose lives have shaped our own. Often as children we want to lay blame at our parents’ feet thinking we would have made better choices and done things differently. We can’t know why people do certain things unless we have walked in their shoes-experienced their life’s hardships. The lesson we are remembering is to hold tight to God’s teachings of compassion toward others, even in what we might perceive as their failings and try to live so we can be proud of ourselves.
This evening we met Doug and Cheryl for dinner and farewells for this visit. Tomorrow will be a chore day for me (a work day for Gene) in preparation for moving on Wednesday. We are headed a littler farther south to see what more we can find on the Curps.
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