cgibson-mushrooms
KPertiet_ChristmasMemoriesAlpha
KPertiet_ColorChallenge110109
KPertiet_FaLaLa
KPertiet_OldTimeChristmas
KPertiet_OntheEdgeNo9
lynng-lhampton-bow
MMartin_LayeredMemoriesNo25

Christmas 1947 - I am now 3 years old and my beloved Pop-Pop has died this year of what I will later learn is black lung disease. It will take my grandmother til the 1970s to receive any compensation from the government on behalf of the mines. She is now on her own, living in one half of the duplex house once owned by the mines. We are in the other half. She is 51 years old& I will look back as an adult to realize how totally alone she was and dependent on her two living daughters to support her & eventually house her. I am finding that my unhappy father is a poor substitute for the grandfather Id known as the center of my universe for my short little life. No more going to the playground with him, no more listening to heated political arguments amongst his fellow Baltic cronies. No more mushroom gathering in the woods, no more total unconditional love. Many many presents help though on Christmas.

Thanks for looking!