Storytellers

     I've realized in the last few years that I've done a couple of things wrong....the first would be not asking enough questions about my family's history. The second would be not recording stories while a few of the best storytellers were still around.
     My great-uncle Phil passed away last Monday, Labor Day. It's the second Labor Day in a row when we've lost a family member.....He was one of my favorite family members (no one get jealous, you're all favorites), especially for the stories he would tell. That, and the fact that he was so much like Grandpa. Their mannerisms, the way they talked and laughed, so incredibly similar. I suppose that is what has made him one of my favorites.
     One of my most cherished memories will always be from last summer. The remaining three of my grandpa's brothers and their wives were out to visit for the family reunion. It was a day no one was gathering until later. We had found some of Grandma's pictures spread throughout the house, and pulled them from their hiding places -- in the side tables, the closets, the cedar chest. My aunts and uncles began passing the pictures around the table, discussing who the people were, how on earth they were related to the family, and some of their childhood memories. That morning, little did I know, would be one of the best family history lessons anyone could ask for. At one point the fleeting thought of grabbing the tri-fold and a video camera flew through my mind, and now I so desperately wish I had taken the five minutes to do so.
     Aunt Mary and family, my condolences. We're all going to miss Uncle Phil terribly.

Uncle Phil and his grandson Landon at branding 2012.