It's amazing to be connecting with so much "lost" family. People I haven't seen for over 30 years, and yet it seems like yesterday. I am sitting in a park called "Forest Park", and it's so familiar to me. I remember walking over here from my grandparent's house just down the road on West Posey Street. I remember the "amphitheater" (shell, as they call it here) where my cousins, brother and I used to run around in, the old playground toys, such as the wooden 'merry go round' that had pump handles to make it go faster and faster, round and round...., the teetering steel animals that had sort of saddles for seats and you rocked them back and forth, the bridges over the creeks, and the slides that seemed oh so big at the time, but as an adult are not so tall. There are two original log cabins that had been transported here long before 1960, so we could all see how primitive the living was "back in the day". And, of course, there's the concession stand. Yummy treats were handed out those windows!!!!
For some unknown reason, I have always referred to this park as "Candy Land Park", or "Candy Cane Park". I have n0 idea how my young brain latched on to that, but ever since I was little, I've called it that. I didn't even realize until the other day that the real name is "Forest Park". I have such great memories from here. To be sitting here after all these years is wonderful. And, of course, just thinking of the passing of time and all the advances is amazing. To go back to a neat subject.....I'm accessing the Internet on my laptop via my wireless USB drive which is hooked up to my Verizon Wireless. When I used to come here as a kid, they still had party lines on their telephones!! I love technology.
I have met up with many cousins, as I said, but so far one in particular has been an absolute blessing to me. Terra. She is my Uncle Terry's daughter. He was my father's youngest brother, and he died of lung cancer when he was in his 30's (back in 1978). Terra was young when he died (maybe 7 or 8). I remember when she was little, and I always even liked her as a kid. I'm about 11 years older than she is, so I remember her a lot.
She and I hit it off right away when we met at breakfast Friday morning. Saturday after the funeral, she and her mom (Aunt Anita) took me for a drive and we hung out for a while after that, then Sunday I went to church with them and we spent the day together. She has lent me her car so I've got some independence. Today I have been "exploring" places like downtown, this park, and Walmart!!! I had to see how this Walmart compares to mine in Maine; this one is a lot smaller, and compressed. When I got in her car, she had it tuned to the Christian radio station!!!! Yay!!!!!! I've been able to drive and listen to my favorite music today!!!! Terra is so easy to talk to, and I feel like I've re-discovered a sister. Her husband, Adam, is absolutely adorable and reminds me of Alex in so many ways. Selectively social is definitely something they share!!!! And, she is so much like Katie it's unreal. So sweet.
Tonight, hopefully, will be a dinner with a lot of us--Uncle Jack, Terra, Jane Ann, Jimmy David.....and whoever else wants to join us. Jane Ann and Jimmy David are brother and sister; their mother was Grandmaw's neice, I think. I'm going to have to sit down with Uncle Jack and write out a family tree. I get everyone confused!!! I just know that Jane Ann, her sister Paula Kay (who passed away back in the 1990's) and I would always hang around together when my family came out here to visit from Maryland. I remember one time their mother, Aunt Tootie, took the two sisters and me to Penney's and we three girls got matching pocket books. They were white with black trim and a silver buckle/clasp. We thought we were really something. When I saw Jane Ann at the funeral home, I asked her if she remembered, and she did!!!
So, now I'm sitting here in the park where I played all those years ago. It feels like home. Everyone welcoming me back with open arms feels wonderful. By being here, I'm reconnecting with a past that was warm and comforting, and I don't have any desire to get rid of. I had an incredible childhood, both here and in Maryland. I'll have to go into more sweet memories later, but right now I just like sitting here, or worries or rushing around. It's nice to de-stress for a while. I have one more day in Indiana, then I fly back home Wednesday morning. I'm anxious to be back home and get back to my regular routine, but it's also very nice to be on "vacation". Even though I'm out here for a sad reason, it's nice to be reconnecting. I know that's how my father would have wanted it.
It's getting late, and the wind is starting to get chilly; I don't have a coat on, either. I'll end this for now and write more when I can.
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