Family history

   About two weeks ago my first cousin on mommas's  side sent out a facebook notice with a letter his Dad my Uncle James sent from Germany during the Big war with some thoughts on fascism. He tried to suggest our grandfather, a Lincoln Republican born in 1881 woulda been antifa. I cant go that far but I get his point. Pat is the most radical of all of us, been a member of the sanctuary for thirty years now with several trips to central America from his station in New Mexiso. His sister's has a daughter who is ordained Baptist Preacher and my sister led a church group from Greenville SC to take the civil rights tour in Selma and Montgomery over last weekend. I crossed the Selma bridge with John Lewis and Ethel Kennedy in 2012 and went back to see Obama and Bush 43 in 2015. since Furman have been a fan of Will Campbell and Marshall Frady.

   Some classmates from Gaffney SC think I am a communist, but they didnt elect me most intellectual for nothing.

   Joke on me.

    That said some families are in earnest over the Holidays to share history. I may publish cousin Pat letter of his father soon.

   Fox side is interesting too, but they are not as thoughtfull in the aggregate as the Jordan sides Grandfather Jordan ran as Lincoln Republican 110 years in for school superintendent and was soundly defeated. His wife Aurrie Lula Vanzant three brothers were all medical doctors.

    My grandfather WD Shorty Fox had brother 20 year's younger than him who became a vice President of Reynolds aluminum. My oldest cousin Harold Brannon Simmons rose high with Sears and Roebuck and cousin Timm Wood married the niece of the long time treasurer of South Carolina Grady Patterson. His brother in law spoke at the funeral of the founder of Chic Fil A, Truett Cathy who I put in the bigger picture of the Baptist tradition in a recent blog.

   Roger Milliken Jr was great friend the summer of 1979 as was Brett Morgen January of 1992. He got a six minute standing ovation at Cannes Film festival three years ago for his documentary on David Bowie. 

   Late jan 1992 on back porch was Morgen and Karen Krattinger who became a tour manager fr the rollng stones, as Brett docked in 2012 with Crossfire Hurricane.

   Whcih brings me to bill Wyman in Muscle Shoals Alabama in the early seventies. As they were leaving the Holiday Inn this young woman custodian asked Wyman if his group was one of the rock groups that had been coming through a lot in those days . He siad Yes: Martha and the Vandellas

   Which brings me to one of Billy Graham's better anecdotes. This one about the mule who ran in the Kentucky derby. Mule and rider were askes why subject themselves to that kind of humiliation where they said they just wanted to be in good company.

   But not as good as Stewart Newman on Charles Stanley  the President of the Southern Baptist Convention in the eighties. Word got out that he went out to walk his Duck and got his head all cut up by an outboard motor