From "Cousin Kathy" to "Cousin Tommy" by GJ

The phone rang yesterday morning and a woman’s voice said, “Uncle Jim?” I answered, “Yes,” and she said, “This is Kathy!” Turns out it is our niece on Jean’s side, her late brother’s daughter. All three of Dick’s girls, two of their husbands, and their mother were in the area and wanted to say “Hi.”

I can’t go into how long it has been since we saw any of these very nice people. (It was probably at a funeral, considering our ages.) The oldest daughter, Kathy, and our youngest, Nancy, believe it has been well over 30 years for them! (Our oldest, Donna, will no doubt cry when she discovers what she has missed because of job and distance.)

There was a time, in the 1970’s and ‘80’s, when we all lived within about an hour of each other. On a few occasions, the six cousins were able to get together and all seem to remember those events quite fondly. There was a natural affinity among them, and a desire to know each other better, but it was not to be.

As is also natural; school, relocation, marriage, relocation, family, relocation, jobs, and relocation all play a part in “losing touch.” An occasional letter gives way to greeting cards which give way to losing addresses, which give way to “lost touch.” And that’s a fact of modern, transitional, life, right?

At some point in the 1830’s, probably, the former Governor of the Indiana Territory, William Henry Harrison (who would later serve a very short term as President of the United States) was visiting northwest Illinois and stopped to see my great grandfather, “Captain Thomas” Harrison. A memoir states that William Henry referred to him as “Cousin Tommy.” This small encounter led to the legend that we are somehow descended from the Presidential Harrisons. I guess there is nothing modern in it, at all! I think I’ll make a 2009 resolution to regain some “touch.”