Where I Come From

I asked my mom a few questions about our family recently. A fair amount was me wondering about my grandparents' politics (independent) to when I got one of my teeth capped (because I had some work redone). Some of the information was fascinating, and I think it might be at least interesting to others.

There is a rumor that there is some Indian blood in our family. It would certainly help explain these insanely high cheekbones I have . " It's on the Lassiter side, and I suspect that it is the Martin and or Orange families." So this would go back to my grandmother's grandmother, and clearly too much for me to cash in on tax-free tobacco or casinos.

Also of note? My great-grandmother was widowed at 42 with 9 children. FORTY-TWO. My grandmother divorced in her thirties, with three daughters, and remarried by the time she was my age.

This is all on the heels of some tales I got from my aunt and a cousin recently. My aunt commented on a dress I was wearing, and got to talking about how my grandmother made their dresses for school each year (my aunt hated wearing dresses, but guess what? My mom was the real tomboy in the family).

Here is one that really floored me, though I vaguely recall hearing this before: "They both grew up so poor during the Depression that their families were actually better off during the Depression than they had been in the 20's and before. There had not been much education before that, and it was scattered about. Mother had a grandfather who was a doctor but her mother only completed 3rd grade."

My grandmother was the first (and only) one to go to college. She also learned to fly a plane before she learned how to drive, apparently at the behest of her then-husband.

I'm not sure that the where-you-come-from idea is more important for me than for others, but it is very important, and furthermore important to get it right. A few years ago I realized our family hadn't always been middle class, and I started to look around to realize what I took for granted. This went hand-in-hand with some political awareness, especially as the current economic state was compared to the Depression.

In any case, I thought I'd share.