I remembered listening to a voice mail in April.
"Aunt Iva, this is Ken. We got your letter and we would love for you and Paula Raye to visit us".
Paula Raye? It has been a long time since we've seen each other...we being my cousin Kenneth Huffingham and me.
Mother had written Ken to see if our trip to South Carolina might include a visit with him and his wife, Laura. It had been more than 10 years since I had seen him. He joined the navy right out of high school and although we have seen him occasionally, he has lived away from Florida since that time. Both of Ken's parents (his dad was my dad's older brother, Ted) are deceased.
Ken's message invited us to spend a night with them and we accepted.
And now we were on our way to their home in Moncks Corner.
I was excited to see my older cousin. Like many people, the older I get, the more my extended family means to me. I have fun memories of our childhood and looked forward to the visit.
A telephone call assured me that we were on the right track in our quest to get to Ken and Laura's home but when we found the address I was a bit taken aback.
There were several cars in the drive. I thought I might have the wrong place. I knocked on the door and heard. "come in". I was not about to "come in". The door opened and Laura, on a cane, greeted me. Her daughter Amber was going to help us get our things.
"We've had a few things going on around here", Amber said.
"Mom had knee surgery four weeks ago and on Tuesday, dad had a mountain bike accident and he has a bad break to his elbow, upper arm and shoulder".
By this time we had mother in tow and were walking into the house. There was an immobilized Ken.
Oh me. We should go to a hotel I thought.
Oh no. They seemed genuinely pleased to have us in their home and set about to make us welcome.
The cars belonged to Amber and her husband who was helping them. Laura's dad was also there. He had wanted to meet some of Ken's family.
Pretty neat right?
Within moments, they were listening as mother told first one and then another story of what's been happening in our family. I had heard the same stories all week and by this time I was about done. I teased my mother and told her I was going to call one of the stories I am including in this recap of our adventures - The Queen of Detail - Give me grace.
However as I think back on that time what I remember most is the way Ken sat and listened. And I remember Laura's words to my mother.
"We just love these stories, I think you should write them all down".
We talked about Ken's dad, Theodore James Huffingham, Jr. I told him that our cousin, Diane, and I have decided we inherited Uncle Ted's keen interest in the news. We remember he always knew everything that was going on everywhere because he read every word in the Florida Times Union - every day and watched the evening news religiously. We also talked of our granddaddy - the man we called Papa and we mentioned briefly the pain we all experienced because of the alcohol and substance abuse that had taken a toll on our family.
I shared a childhood experience from a time when I stayed with them and Aunt Frankie, who was his mother, insisted that I eat cooked carrots (something that I love today). I wondered if he and his older brother Reggie were bothered at all when the four Huffingham granddaughters (me, Debbie, Cindy and Diane) came along. Did we steal their thunder? Were they glad when Jonathan and Lester came along so that there was an even number of each sex?
Ken also told us about Reggie who is now being cared for in an assisted living facility in Virginia. Although it made us a little sad, we were also glad to know that he is safe.
As we left Ken and Laura to be on our way to visit another of my mother's cousins, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction - first of all for my mother, who had really looked forward to seeing one of daddy's nephews, second for Ken, who seemed so eager to know about all of us and finally for me -
It's been a long time since anyone has called me Paula Raye -
 |
| Kenneth Charles Huffingham - surrounded by Mother, Laura's daughter, Amber and Laura |
.
No comments:
Post a Comment