My cousin Jeannie and I spent a bunch of time yesterday going through a
big cardboard box of family stuff that once lived in our grandfather’s
basement. Hack, cough, wheeze–talk about dusty! In addition to
Grandpa’s speech on the GI Bill, we found:
- Photos of Grandpa from altar boy to World War I doughboy to family-partying grandfather
- Photos of Jeannie’s dad in old-time football uniform
- Photos of my dad riding a rocking horse
- Letters and cards we all sent Grandpa over the years (“Camp is fun. I sure could use a dollar.”)
 |
Grandpa with “us nine” grandchildren, at my wedding. Jeannie is the youngest girl, far left. |
Today, still following up on family tradition, we headed for the John
Kerry for President headquarters. Jeannie knew how to get there from
Haymarket T stop–after three years in Cambridge I still get lost
in Boston.
The office was full of enthusiastic twenty- and thirty-somethings
working away with computers or on the phone. It was more organized than
Dean offices used to be–no empty pizza boxes stacked up by
wastebaskets, just for example.
People seemed happy and psyched, I know
I was. I did some
phone-calling but after an hour or so I decided to write a letter to
the editor about Kerry’s
healthcare plan. We sat around a big table with a bunch of other volunteers,
one of whom Jeannie knew from a choir in Arlington.
Tonight, I’m reminded it’s good to go places as part of a family “we”, good to
share in a community “our”, good to join a campaign where the work
is done by “us”.