A quick update.
Last Thursday night I was invited to the home of Claire and Bob Smith. Claire is my step-mom's cousin and she also works at the DOC Eastern region office in Greenville. I only discovered this a couple of weeks ago when I was telling my step-mom about my internship. I had met Claire on the second day of my internship, at a DOC volunteer reception in Raleigh, but I had no idea that we were related. It's a small world. After making the discovery that I had family in Greene County, I spoke to Claire and she invited to come and eat at her house. Her father, Short Shirley, lives across the street from her and I got to see him as well. It was sort of like meeting him, though, because the last time I saw him was when I went to his house for Thanksgiving when I was about 8. It was nice to talk to Claire, Bob, and Uncle Short (that's what everybody on my step-mom's side of the family calls him, regardless of if he's technically their uncle or not) and catch up. I actually found out that my grandfather (Papa) grew up in Greene County and before dinner Uncle Short took me on a tour of the surrounding property. He showed me the house where him and Papa and their other siblings grew up. He also showed me the house of other relatives. It's really neat that he knows everybody in the area. Him and the Smiths also had many connections to Eastern. For one, Bob used to be the superintendent at Eastern a few years ago before he became the superintendent at Maury, and then retired. The mailroom actually received a letter for him the other day. Also, the chaplain at the prison used to be the pastor at the church the Smiths and Uncle Short attend, in fact, he was the pastor at Bob and Claire's wedding. I spoke to him about this connection and he told me that Uncle Short's wife was such a great example of a Christian woman. He said the Smiths and Uncle Short were very good Christian family. I felt proud to have my kin spoken so highly of. We both joked that hopefully that was one part of the family that rubbed off on me.
After dinner Thursday night I drove to Greenville to pack up for the weekend. My family and I left on Friday to attend a family get-together/celebration of my grandma's 90th birthday in Covington, VA. It was nice to see my family again. The celebration had less people than the usual family reunions so I actually remembered most of the people. A part of the weekend that I really enjoyed was going to Clifton Forge, VA (the next town over) which is where my step-dad grew up. Many of the people he and his siblings grew up with still live there and we got to meet some of them. I was able to see some of the houses where JJ (my step-dad) used to live, the downtown areas where he used to hang out, and the shortcuts he took to school. I was also able to see the schools that he used to tell me about. I got to see the black school where he went until his junior year of high school and then I got to see the white school where he was sent to for his junior and senior year because the schools were beginning to integrate. He's told me a few of the stories that occurred in those buildings and on that football field and it was neat to actually see the place. It is difficult to think, though, that there were separate schools for blacks and whites and that there was a black area of town and a white area of town and that these two areas were separated by railroad tracks.
Saturday night we held a banquet for my grandma and she seemed to really love it. Everybody dressed up and we met in the banquet hall at the restaurant. One of my favorite parts was read by Tiffany (my Uncle's granddaughter). She told us five lessons that she learned from grandma and they were all concerning phrases that my grandma often says such as "lay that pistol down" or "Oooh oooh oooh". After the tributes and the food we all stayed around to talk and take lots of pictures. It was a nice weekend.
Today I attended a reception for all interns that are participating in the same program as I am, as well as the interns who work at the executive, legislative, and judicial offices. It was held at the Governor's mansion. I had never been there before and it was beautiful. We had time to talk to other interns and mingle and such. Then, the Governor, Mrs. Perdue, spoke. She congratulated all of us for our accomplishments and told us she believed that we "the best and the brightest" were the future of our state. It would sound corny to most people but I really felt she was sincere. She encouraged us to continue to work hard and pursue our goals, and she hoped that they might include serving the state of North Carolina or at least serving just serving others. She hoped to encourage us by saying that she has hope for the future of North Carolina and it is that hope that continues to drive her to serve this state even when things seem difficult. She said that was part of being a leader: making decisions, and remembering the long term as well as the short term. The Governor and all of the interns took a picture on the steps of the mansion. My friend, Tessa, and I were standing right beside her. After the photo was taken we were both able to shake her hand and thank her. I'm not sure if we were supposed to do that or not, but I just followed Tessa's lead because I thought it was a great moment to do so. After we shook her hand, though, she was whisked away by security. It was a nice event and I enjoyed it.
Tomorrow I head back to Eastern. I only have 2 1/2 weeks left. It has flown by and I hope I can make the most of each day that I have left.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment