Day: July 7, 2023

We now have no mothers nor fathers. Adult orphans one could say. We cousins have become the elders in our clan. Our mothers were all children of the Great Depression. Two of the three married alcoholics. Two saw one of their children die. All were widowed. All found comfort in their faith. Growing up we had no Sandman family reunions or holiday celebrations with a houseful of cousins. We were strangers most of our lives, until texts reporting deaths drew us closer. I pull into the Pizza Ranch in Fort Dodge a bit before noon on a Friday in June.