Quote:
Originally Posted by kimball
Try asking some Villagers. You might be surprised how astute the kids are.
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I had to laugh while reading a different thread (about a concealed weapons course recommendation) when someone quoted a pretty absurd statement and another poster asked if she had been able to keep a straight face when hearing it. Try this one; I’m usually pretty quick on my feet in situations like this, but this one just got away from me in terms of how to answer the final question.
I was chatting with someone I’d casually met at one of the squares (a mutual friend had introduced us) who was complaining about the difficulty of getting cousins together for the Thanksgiving holiday, as they were all scattered: one in Massachusetts, one in Ohio, one in Maryland, one somewhere in New York State, and her (let’s just say somewhere in the middle, so no one can point a finger at any particular state).
I listened thoughtfully, then explained that in one branch of my father’s family (my grandfather had married twice), we were seven first cousins, and after my brother had died many years ago and way too young, we were left six first cousins--and we live in six countries! Try a family reunion under those circumstances (yet we all did know each other)!
She looked at me blankly. What was I talking about? Didn’t I mean six states? So I explained, in age order, with a little family history and world geography:
Cousin David, who returned to Germany, the country of his birth, at the end of World War II and is now a retired journalist living in Berlin—the capital of Germany.
Then cousin Maya, who was a major in the Red Army during World War II (remember, the Soviets were our allies…) and is now a retired physicist living in Moscow—the capital of Russia.
Next comes cousin Gideon, who with his family spent seven years in Kenya setting up public health programs after that country got its independence and who now lives in Haifa, which is one of the major ports in Israel (not the capital city but the home of the world center of the Baha’i religion).
And then there was cousin Lili (now deceased), who was a librarian who adapted to become an information specialist, who lived in a suburb of Stockholm—the capital of Sweden.
Then comes cousin Jon, the actor, who at one time had taken a one-man “Groucho” show to various parts of the world, who is still an actor and who lives in London—the capital of England.
And finally there’s me, the youngest, now retired and living in The Villages.
Her response? Another blank, confused look, and then a question:
“Why did they all move so far away?”
It took all I had to keep a straight face….