Family Connection

Today we had brunch with Lyn and Michael at truck stop in Oak Grove, MO, (outside Independence).

Me and Cousin Lyn Halama - with Buddy - in Oak Grove, MO

This is the first time meeting my cousin as an adult.

It was a wonderful connection and one of the things I had hoped for when we were talking about me getting on the truck with Collin.

I hope for many more such connections as we continue.

Then we drove through St Louis, past the arch, and within a dozen miles of the neighborhood where I was born; interesting that I felt more of a connection driving through this time than I did in 1997 when I was there for the Kelly Family Reunion.

St Louis Arch at Sunset

There was a lot of road construction and at one point while I was rubbernecking at all the old buildings, I almost failed to help Collin navigate to stay on the I-64, and we 'almost' ended up in East St Louis. I remember hearing stories about bad things happening there when I was a kid.

I spoke to Mom shortly after we got out of town, and she remembers her Dad telling stories like the time the casket in a funeral procession was filled with guns. I looked out the window, and I'm pretty sure I saw apartments that have been featured on COPS, or on one of those other true crime shows that Collin likes to watch.
 
Mom reminded me that my Great Grandma was originally from Nashville, TN, and while we drove through there, I didn't get much of a connection there, maybe because it was midnight, I don't know. We saw some landmark type buildings - isn't Nashville where Radio City Music Hall is? We saw road signs for the Opry House, but I'm not sure we saw it from the freeway.

(editorial note: Mom has since clarified that my GG was from Nashville Illinois. No wonder I didn't feel connected in Tennessee!)


The thing I noticed most about the change between the Midwest and the Carolinas - a transition that seemed to happen in Tennessee - is the return of the roadside trees. By daybreak in North Carolina, there were once again proper forests. It felt like a return to some semblance of 'normal' or 'home'.