Ancestors! Our Link from Past to Present!

A new year! A new decade! A new day! It is the very beginning of the year 2020. Hopefully, there are abundant blessings in store, great and small. I received one of those blessings yesterday. My cousin, John Hubert Richardson called. That is not unusual. We talk often, and it is always a joy. Yesterday, John, whom I always call "Sonny," called and we chatted for a while, and as always, laughed a while. Before ending the call, he said, "Guess what book I just finished reading?" I responded with the obvious answer, "My Dearest Minnie." We laughed and he said, "You know it! This is my fourth time reading it!" That's what made my answer the obvious one. He has read it and shared it numerous times. However, my Aunt Isabelle, who is 91 years old, has read and shared it even more times than that! I think the last number I heard from her was about seven times! What a blessing!

As Sonny and I talked, he shared that he had not planned to read the book again, but was prompted to do so by a question from his son, also named John Hubert Richardson, but commonly called "John-John." For whatever reason, John-John wanted to know more about his great grandparents Reverend Caleb Richardson and his wife Minnie. Quite naturally, Sonny referred back to his copy of "My Dearest Minnie." After finding the answers he needed within the first few pages, he said, "I had no intention of reading that book again, but I just couldn't put it down! Before I knew it, I read the words, "The End."

I left the conversation feeling grateful. I had written the book, "My Dearest Minnie" several years ago. It tells the story of my grandparents' migration from the Jim Crow south, to the "promised land" of Philadelphia, PA. The year was 1922. The book traces their journey and the events to follow while providing daily accounts of their struggles and their triumphs. I wrote the book in order to be assured that the lives of my grandparents would be documented for generations to come. Success! The fact that their legacy is still being honored in 2020 is thrilling. My hope is that our present family can continue to be strengthened and encouraged by the lives of our ancestors. "My Dearest Minnie" won an award recently. I am delighted. However, my greater delight comes from knowing that in a sense, our ancestors still live. They are our link from our past to our present, and hopefully into our future. THE END.

As a side note, there will be a family reunion of the Summers' Family in May of 2020. It will be held in Charleston, SC. This will be an opportunity for us to again honor our ancestors and cherish our present. My grandfather was Reverend Caleb Richardson whose mother was Henrietta Summers. Looking forward to seeing the many members of the present day descendants of the Summers Family in May. In the meantime, if you haven't already done so, get your copy of "My Dearest Minnie" today on Amazon.com.

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