Thoughts about a phone conversation

Preface to this story. I’m an only child, my father was an only child. Therefore, ALL of my cousins on my dad’s side are at the very least 1st cousins once removed if not more. So when I say cousins in this posting please know that they are not first cousins and that they are all at the youngest in there 70’s. Except Neil who was a 3rd cousin.

I called an elderly cousin of mine a couple of nights ago, who I had not talked to in quite a while (let's say 6 or 7 years) and caught up on a lot of the family happenings, aka “gossip.” There's always seems to be one in every family that keeps up with who is living with who, where they’re working
and living. For this side of my family it is this cousin, Sidney Hutcherson, Jr, or as everyone in the family calls him, Jr. I have to be honest in that I have fallen out of touch with some of my distant cousins…..well if I’m being totally honest, I’ve really fallen out of touch with all of my cousins. Oh I have several that I have friended on Facebook, but for the most part I haven’t kept in contact with my family like I really should. There, I’ve said it! It’s like one of those twelve step programs where during a meeting you have to introduce yourself and say your problem: “Hi, my name is Deborah and I’m a non-communicating cousin.” Anyway, back to the phone conversation.

Even though many years have passed since we had spoken, it was still like old times while talking to him. He still tells the same old corny/funny jokes and is a wealth of information when it comes to family history and connections. I never fail to learn something new about the family when I talk with him and the other night was no exception. I told myself after talking to him that I have got to make it a priority to keep in touch with all of my cousins, especially the ones that are older.

Things learned in one conversation with Junior:

• Junior was 86 on his last birthday. (He seemed older to me because I can't remember a time when he was working. So I only remember him being retired therefore making him seem older.)
  
• Him and his wife will be married 68 years on 13 June. Which he said, “She still hasn’t gotten me straightened out yet!”
  
• My 3rd cousin, Jeffrey “Neil” Hardin, was found dead in Little Rock, Arkansas about a month ago. He was 38 years old.
  
• My grandmother had a cousin by the name of Charles Greenwell who worked as a cook in the White House. (I need to do some research on this!) He came back to Kentucky on a visit and brought my grandmother and all of her sisters gifts. Stay tuned to find out more about this, as it will be the subject of a future Treasure Chest Thursday posting.
  
• He gave me the names of the children of my grandmother’s nephew (I think this is the relationship) that I didn’t have before.
• Ma Shofner (my great-grandmother whose real name is Annie Elizabeth Lile Shofner) was a quiet person who didn't really talk much.
• Last but not least, he told me a wonderful story about how my great-uncle and great-aunt were reintroduced after a couple years apart and subsequently married. This is a story that I had NEVER heard before and this was a great-aunt and uncle that I was around enough that I should have heard this story. 

Anyway, I have gone on enough for now but I just had to share this information that one phone conversation, albeit 2 hours, with a elderly cousin yielded. It just reinforces that you never have heard ALL the stories that someone has to tell!
Hope you enjoyed, glad you stopped by and please come back again ;)