Great Surprise

Late yesterday afternoon I received a nice surprise.  Marty's phone rang and it had a number and  Corbin, KY. (my home town) I figured it was a high school friend.  WRONG.  It was my Big Boy Cousin, Ernest Triplett. 

Now to explain Big Boy.  Ernest was 16 when I was born. I only knew him as a grown up. I only had 3 or 4 cousins my age.  Most of the Daddy's were gone fighting WWII.  Ernest is a true Triplett:  charming, good looking, great hair, never met a stranger.  He will tell you stories about Kentucky, entertain you and sell you half the merchandise in his store at the same time.   Tripletts are great at retail.

He and my mother (Aunt Anna) were good friends.  He told me last night that talking to me was like talking to his Aunt Anna, that I sound just like her.  Ernest told me about a family feud that just maybe my mother caused.  Mother kept someone from being buried in the family plot and the offended family member cut all Tripletts out of his life.  I found this really interesting, Mother was a Triplett by marriage.  How did she have such power?  And why?  When I feel better maybe I will get all the details.

He gave me lots of information about the names the Triplett men were given for generations:  Henry, William, Hall, Napoleon.

Ernest called to tell me he loves me and to give some cancer advice.  His first wife beat cancer for 15 years and then lost the second battle.  He talked about Marty needing to take care of himself.  And then he said if you lose your hair, don't wear a hat or a scarf.  Get several wigs and have fun.  Also he said people look at  you differently if it is evident you have lost your hair.  They know you are sick.  Fancy wigs, they talk about how great your hair looks.  Interesting observance.

WOW! WOW again!

The Marriage Factory was steadily busy Monday.  Busy enough they used a runner to bring couples to me.  I think I did 10 weddings between 9:00 and 12:15.  Great to feel needed.

Two weddings stand out for a Wow moment. A gay couple from Texas had come to be married.  One man had been born in Louisiana, the other in Georgia.  Yay, they would talk like me.  In the elevator they asked where I was from, and I gave my stock answer:  A little town in the mountains of Kentucky.  It is 100 mile south of Lexington and 100 miles north of Knoxville.  One of the men said, "Oh, Corbin."  How did he know that?  It turned out he used to travel for a pharmaceutical company and had clients in Corbin. We talked about places in the area.  It was like ole home week.

The other Wow moment was with a Chinese couple.  After the wedding they were walking to the elevator and the bride yelled, "That's my mother's art!"

sidebar:  The art in the Wedding Room area is all wedding related.  Alameda County buys art from emerging/struggling artists and hangs it in all of their buildings. Everything except the wedding art is rotated regularly to other County buildings.

The mother was not with them, don't know why, but the bride's father and sister were there. They were all so excited to see the art. They all took pictures of the painting and took pictures of each other beside it. Yes, a Wow moment.

Below is the picture.  Not a great shot,  I didn't realize I have a little reflection in it until just now.   I think this story will be something the couple will tell their great grand children.

A Chinese bride on her wedding day

The artist's name.

I still get goose bumps thinking about someone seeing a family member's work hung in a public venue.