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Home June 25, 2012
It’s nice to be home. I’m in Philadelphia at my parents’ house – the same house I grew up in and that they’ve lived in for 50 years. My younger brother and one of my older sisters were here over the weekend, too, so we’ve had a sort of mini-reunion. My brother commutes from Los Angeles to Shanghai for work, but this time he had business in DC before heading to Asia tonight. I don’t know how he does it, but at least his company pays for business class so he can sleep while he flies overnight to the other side of the world. The sister who was here until last night lives in northern New Jersey. We were all here because her daughter had a baby a few weeks ago and we wanted to meet her. I spent a lot of time holding her yesterday, which did me a world of good. Last night, we watched a show on PBS called Finding Your Roots. Every Sunday night, they pick 2 or 3 celebrities and trace their family lines back as far as they can by way of paper trail and DNA. My parents are both interested in their genealogy but hadn’t heard of the show so it was good to watch it with them. It’s funny to think that 100 years from now some one related to us will be curious to know who we were. The thing that I like finding out is the personal information: who owned slaves, who didn’t, who had the courage of their convictions and who did not. How much money did they have and how did they spend it? Were they good people or lousy people? Do I admire them or do I not? My parents are people that I love and admire. They’re generous and kind. Their door is always open to anyone who walks in. My growing-up years were filled with international visitors from all over the world. They’ve always believed that meeting, greeting, eating with and listening to people from other places was a good way to improve our minds and the world. I think they’re right and I feel lucky to have met so many fine people at their dining room table. We spent an hour or so today prepping my parents’ front door for a paint job that I will finish tomorrow. My brother suggested going from brown to red, but my mother vetoed that idea. She likes things to stay as they’ve always been, which is a great comfort to me when I visit. I hope it’s a good day for you wherever you are. Love, bar
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