(I received so many good comments/questions on part one, I felt I needed to do a part two. To read part one, go here.)
He was Santa Claus. That is my fondest and clearest memory of my uncle. Remember, I was six at the time.
After his death, his wife Joan continued to bring their two boys, Matt and Scotty, around on the holidays. When I was seven, my mom married my step dad and moved to the country. Joan brought the boys up several times to hang out with my brothers.
One winter, my crazy, country brothers gave those city boys a ride on our snowmobiles. First to take off was my half brother Conrad. He gunned it so hard that Matt went flying off the back. Then, my step brother Todd took off with Scotty holding on for dear life. By the time they got back to our trailer house, both cousins looked like they were in shock. Knowing my brothers, they gave those city boys a ride they wouldn’t soon forget.
As my cousins got older, they started to question what happened to their dad. One time in particular, Matt, the older one, asked my grandma about his dad. My grandma, being the wise matriarch she is, told him he needed to talk to his mom. Soon after that, we stopped seeing the boys altogether.
I heard rumors both boys eventually dropped out of school, were in and out of jail, and in general were struggling through life. I knew they lived in the Big City. I got word that Scotty actually lived not only in my district, but in my assigned area back when I worked patrol. One evening, we had a shots fired call in the area. We knocked on a few doors, his included. He never answered, although I hoped he had. I kept seeing the same truck parked outside, but never anyone around. To this day, no one in my mom’s family has heard from either boy, now men. And we are pretty certain they were never told the truth about their dad’s death.
*Author's note: This is a true story. Only the names have been changed.
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25 comments:
It is amazing to me how many secrets families keep and never seem to realize the impact it will have on future generations.
Thank you for sharing this part of your story...and I'm glad you were able to find the truth, I'm sure that settles your heart!
Good Morning Sweetie...
I so love this story. What a wonderful writer you are. I love telling stories. I could just see the one boy coming off the back of the snowmobile and the other hanging on for his life. We were awnry as kids weren't we?
Have a beautiful day sweetie, and thanks again for sharing. I so love it when you do.
Country hugs...Sherry
Some stories just break your heart; I feel so bad for your cousins that they could never really overcome the family tragedy. I love the way you write about this - matter-of-fact yet all the emotions are there beneath the surface. Thanks for sharing this.
Thanks for sharing more. It is great to hear how the family works.. I am so happy you came by.. Thanks..
Have a great day and weekend.
How sad for these boys. I often think how different my own life would have been had I not had my mom and grandmother. I am sure it was have been just as tragic as your cousins.
I wonder what she told them. I wonder how much of the truth she shared. Sometimes not having answers leads you to fill in the blanks on your own and I wonder if that is what the boys did. Did they make their own story fit one similar to their dads?
Thanks so much for sharing this - these kind of stories are very heartbreaking, but sounds as though you found truth in this!
And thanks for supporting Theta Mom - I think you will LOBE my idea! ;)
part 2 IS AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER THAN PART ONE, THANK YOU FOR SHARING THIS WITH US, MY FAMILY POEM IS POSTED :)
I'm here on a Friday Follow and wanted to say that your story is touching and heartbreaking. What a difficult thing for your family to endure.
And, on a lighter note -- I love your photos!
Wow.. so sad that they were not able to end up having better lives themselves.
Thank you so much for sharing!
What a sad story this one is!
such a sad - true story. Our family has those sad - true stories too. The blessing is that you gain compassion from knowing others in hard circumstances. You gain understanding. You gain knowledge of what not to do. each story/person of course learns some or all of those things and more... in their own way.... am I making any sense? Maybe too deep for me before my third cup o joe! God can use any circumstances !! that is what I am saying.. for his Glory in our lives... I will stop rambling now! =) LOL!
Just Jenn~
beautiful write.
thank you for visiting me today. :) lovely to meet you.
a sad tale indeed...the things we do to family, when they should be those we endear the most. thanks for dropping by today. i will be back. smiles.
What a shame that they grew up in those circumstances. Hopefully as adults they've matured and grown a bit wiser.
Wow I can't believe a mother wouldn't tell her boys what really happened to their own father. That is so mean.
nice story,
when it comes to family, love always comes first.
Happy Friday!
That is sad. You know you can say this or that but you do not know what you would do if you were in that situation. I hope they pulled their lives together.
It sounds like you guys had some fun in the country!!
that is so stinkin' irritating. people deserve to KNOW the truth about the past.
ugh. so sad.
on a happier note, have a great weekend!!
That is so sad. It sounds like this is a matter for prayer. God can often bring things full circle.
Thank you again for the insight into your life. Isn't it funny how crazy family stories can be sometimes. I think if I ever wrote down some of the stories from my dad's side of the family, no one would believe it. It sounds like those daytime judge shows and soap operas get intertwined. ;-)
That's so sad and a difficult situation all around. I'm so sorry that your family had to go through this.
I'm a new follower.
How did I miss the first part of this story? Man, I need to get online more often!
Thanks for sharing this. Someday I will have to post about my great-grandfather who was shot and killed in the line of duty. I'd have to get permission from MANY family members first, but it is an interesting story from the prohibition days.
I think part two really shows what we do everyday, all the little stuff that becomes big stuff, really matters.
My thoughts are still on your legacy post....reminds me of how it's all tied together. What was the legacy for these two boys? How things could have been so different.
Thank you for sharing.
I immediately think about how those boys' lives might have been different if there dad were still here today. Sad. So much was robbed of them.
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