Bonnie Brae

In August 2009 I was very sad as I drove away from Auntie Erin's house. I knew it would be a long time until I would see you again, ninos. I was on my way back to the Northwest to take care of a few loose ends (some might call them the dangling threads that are left when we don't cut clean, but regardless I had some work waiting for me.) My route (different from the one we drove together, grandchildren) took me through the area where our cousin Bonnie lives. This was a happy visit because we had not seen each other for a long long time. In fact, the last time Bonnie and I were together, her hair was bright red and mine was still black; that is many years ago indeed.


This is a picture of Bonnie when she was a bit older than you, Little Clam, and just a wee bit younger than you are now, Weezie. Isn't she a pretty little girl? And her hair was red and fluffy, very pretty and not something you see every day.

This is Bonnie's house. It is on a hill with sloping lawn on two sides. Her husband Roy mows it with a riding lawn mower. They have added some plantings and are waiting for things to grow and fill in a bit. Meanwhile, it is a lovely house (I didn't take pictures inside as it seemed rude at the time, but it is a lovely home) and Bonnie and Roy have decorated it with their favorite things.

This is the driveway from the street leading up to the house. Bonnie and Roy are fortunate they live where it does not snow very often. When I saw this driveway, I thought of my old house in the NW, the one that just sold, and remembered the long driveway that I shoveled for two winters. Just thinking about that made me shiver in the August heat. That is Car Blue sitting in the driveway, Weezie and Little Clam, as I am sure you will recognize.

And here is Bonnie sitting on the porch where I found her when I drove up the driveway. She is talking on the phone, maybe to her daughter Jennifer.

Bonnie agreed to let me take her picture to share with the rest of the family. She was unable to come to the reunion last summer, and everyone will be glad to see her picture at least. We are still working on getting her to the next reunion although she has several reasons why she thinks she won't be able to go. (Never say never, Bonnie). These pictures do not do her justice. The flash on my camera reflects light and fades the image. The profile picture is to illustrate that Bonnie is indeed a member of the Lanham tribe because she has the family nose. Thank you Grandpa Lanham and whoever gave you that distinctive nose. I have always admired it, as we all shall see when I begin telling more of the Lanham story one of these days soon.

I like this portrait shot. It reminds me of your great great grandfather (my grandpa) Logan. He was a handsome man all of his life, and his face contained a world of character. Bonnie inherited his good looks from her mom (along with some wonderful qualities from her dad's side of the gene pool). I like to tell you about your family history, at least the small part I know which is the part that comes to you through your mama. But I admit that I am telling this story because it makes me happy to remember my visit with Bonnie, closing a little bit of the gap between when we were young and where we are now. So this story is mostly for me, grandchildren. Thank you for putting up with me.