CARRYING THE FUTURE
Within my family folklore there is a story about the time my dad and mom (something like seven months pregnant with my brother) climbed Bowman’s Tower. Bowman’s Tower is 125 feet tall and in 1972 there was no elevator. I never understood why she did it, and it doesn’t really matter, Bowman’s Tower has always been central to my understanding of my family.
Bowman’s Tower is located in Bucks County, PA, a place that figures heavily in my personal narrative and family history. My parents first went to Bucks on their “mini-moon” – a concept that didn’t even have a catchy name back then – and fell in love with it. They returned frequently throughout their marriage and it is the scene of many of my favorite memories. Aside from the countless weekends I spent with my family shopping, eating, canoeing and seeing musicals at the Bucks County Playhouse, there were certain watershed moments in my life in which the area figured prominently. We stayed in Bucks County the night before I caught the bus to Long Lake for the first time. I had lunch with my parents in Bucks County before I drove to Mason for the start of my crucial second year of college. SMS first told me he loved me in Bucks County (actually it was across the river in Lambertville, NJ, but it was close enough). SMS and I got married in Bucks County, which allowed us to share one of our favorite places with the all the people we love. In 2006, Mr. Happy and I scattered my father ashes in Bucks County.
And even though I never climbed Bowman’s Tower myself, in utero or out, it is a resounding symbol of what was important to the people who raised me: history, travel, first-hand experiences, beauty … The story of my mother’s climb was never far from my mind as I journeyed this past week, carrying my own first-child in utero, through the American south with 90 Jewish 16-year-olds on a Civil Rights odyssey. We explored the connections between whites, blacks, religion and rock ‘n’ roll in the 1950s and 60s. I hope this journey will be as indicative of the family I am about to create as Bowman’s Tower and Bucks County was of the family that created me.
TO SEE A DAY BY DAY PHOTO OVERVIEW CLICK HERE.
TO SEE ALL OF MY JOURNEY PHOTOS CLICK HERE.
TO READ PART 1 :: BEING AN ADULT CLICK HERE.
TO READ PART 2 :: THE POWER OF HERE AND NOW CLICK HERE.
TO READ PART 3 :: PROTESTING THE PROTESTER CLICK HERE.
that was beautiful jamie-kins.
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