Georgia on my Mind

Patti teaching Andree at kitchen island how to count money just before spending it.

Bernard Sisters impression of (from left) Larry, Moe, Curley Joe

Phenomenol living room two-story window looking out to back yard full of roses, birds, and dog poop.

Dusting of snow Sunday Feb 12 barely visible on ground (friend's home where i stayed in Marietta).

Mel's deck overlooking backyard. Dying Kumquat tree across from wicker chair omitted out of respect for kumquat's next-of-kin.

Mel and 15-yr-old son Corey, in his wife-beater shirt (ironically, Uncle Ray {Corey's grandfather} used to love to wear the same kind of undershirt ).

Scene setting from "Mel does Alpharetta" Soft X feature film

iMelda's collection of adornments for her feet.

Back of Mel's Beautiful home near Alpharetta Georgia. Bottom floor is a HUGE open, airy basement about to be remodeled into a more finished living space

Mark Hancock and sons Tyler and Crawley

A rodent appears to be driving this SUV !!! Call the State Police !!!

The in-laws: Mark D (Sandy's), Mark H (Mel's) Mel, Andy M (Patti's) and Suzanne (Pep's)

Patti: appears well-groomed. Sandy: appears well-bred. Melissa: appears drunk.

Fashion model / Bag Lady Extraordinaire

The Beast and Beauty (This time-machine photo is of Joe in the present day and Sandy from 1956)

The Divine Miss M, Joe (proving he inherited Uncle Ray's hands), Spectacular Sandy

My only distaff first cousins: Sandy, Patti, Melissa. All teasing aside - these three Extraordinarily Beautiful Women (inside and out), are all over 41, and all look 10-15 years younger.

Aunt Jan, Peppy's wife Suzanne, his daughter Savannah in a laundry project. We found a whole master bedroom under the clothes !

Melissa's beautiful, warmly lived-in home, with surprises hanging on almost every fan inside.

Sandy and Peppy - who is a grandfather in his own right, and who, in this shot, looks like his great grandfather Galbert Bernard (JE's dad)

Georgia Remembrances

It's Sunday - Feb 12th. My father's mother Fanny Ella Kruse Chaillot would be celebrating her 109th birthday today had she lived (Fanny Ella died in May 1987). Abe Lincoln would have been 200 today or very near it !!!

There's a dusting of SNOW here this morning in north Georgia !!!

Had a heartfelt reunion with my first cousins yesterday at their father's (Uncle Ray) funeral in Woodstock, GA. The best part of the day came later, at his daughter Melissa's home in nearby Alpharetta.

We talked and laughed and told stories and drank beer (in homage to Uncle Ray - who dearly loved his beer and could outdrink anyone twice his size) and ate and - best of all - watched a DVD on TV and a CD (on computer) with photos of Ray and family from 1930 (the year of his birth) right on up through recently.

Sandy, Peppy , Melissa, and Patti and their families have all created incredibly wonderful, beautiful, fulfilling lives. Aunt Jan (77 Jan 24th) - looking even more elfish than her usual 4'11" self, was stoic yet regaled us with stories about Uncle Ray and his final days and even final moments -

as he sat up in bed and ordered some Louisiana oysters for a midnight snack just minutes before he joined Lillian, JE and Sis. I have no doubt he is cracking open some bivalves and popping a cold one right now this very moment (wanna bet?).

I have some more photos of this visit and will be posting them here in the coming days - despite my teasing them, aren't my cousins beautiful ?

I want to suggest something right here on my blog for everyone to think about (but as Papa B used to say when we played cards with him: think long and you think wrong).

I propose that ALL of the descendants of Lillian Broussard and Joseph Essie Bernard hold their First Annual Lillian and J.E. Bernard Family Reunion this coming summer, at a place and date to be determined by consent of The 12 Apostles, who, as Grande de Mama Lil used to say "are going to make me a saint just putting up with them!" (She turned out to be exactly right: she WAS a saint !

So let's get some feedback to this idea. We simply must not allow our families (who grew up very close to one another emotionally if not always physically) to only see one another at funerals - which has EXACTLY been the case for many years now.

I will volunteer to handle all communcations through this website - all any of you have to do from here on out to circulate an idea is simply add a comment to this post (at the bottom) and i will post your comment for all to see (so CHECK BACK HERE regularly - put this address on your list of favorites.

Let's do Summer 2006 I suggest Georgia for this year, Lafayette in 2007, Houston in 2008, Steamboat Springs in 2009, and AUSTRALIA for 2010 (Lillian's Centennial Year) start saving your money !!!.