In another lifetime, Rosemary had been a banjo picker and was very familiar with the Country and Western music scene. She called me up in a state of great excitement and told me that I was related to Junior Brown, a well-known and popular country singer. It turns out that his grandfather and my father are one and the same persons and that makes him my cousin and, amazingly enough, makes me his uncle. A completely unique experience for me, I assure you.
After this startling event, Rosemary called me on Friday afternoon and told me that Junior Brown was in town and would be playing that night at the Birchmere, a very well known musical venue in Washington DC. It did not take me any time at all to make my decision: we were in the audience that night. Rosemary sent a note backstage with an usher alerting Junior Brown that I was in the audience and asking him if he would like to meet me. Ten minutes later Junior Brown walked up to me and introduced himself and for the next 15 minutes, right before the performance, he plied me with questions about his grandfather and my father. He had heard stories about that side of the family but had never met anyone who had the information that I did and he was strongly gratified and plied me with one question after the other and listened carefully to my answers. On my part I was totally taken when he referred to my father as “Elusha.” In Russian, that is the diminutive form of my father's first name, Elias, and I have not heard that word spoken in connection with him for more than 70 years as it was a term of great affection that my mother used when speaking to my father. What powerful echoes it set up in my head can only be imagined by the reader.
Just before intermission, Junior Brown paused for a minute, introduced me as his Uncle Sparky and asked me to stand up which I did with alacrity. No one has ever called me Uncle before and I still haven't gotten over the strong feelings when I heard that.
Junior’s performance on stage was wonderful and while his particular music is not something with which I am familiar, the audience was extremely enthusiastic. He is a wonderful showman and really enjoyed performing for people. (A characteristic of the Breeskin line) A lot of information about him and his career can be found on the Internet.
Since that time Junior I have written to each other every day and I'm looking forward to the time when we can sit down FxF and walk down memory lane together.
Knowing myself, it will take me a long time to process this information. It is if a bright light bulb has gone off in my head illuminating vast caverns that heretofore had been in total darkness. It is as if a sensitive person like me has had his nerve endings lightly sand papered. I do not know where this will end but I am enjoying the journey tremendously.
We're not much to look at but we're kin; that is blessed.
2 comments:
Congratulaions. It would seem that music IS in your blood. Score one for genetics!
Dear Larry,
You quickly grasped my point. I have sent Junior Brown a copy of my father's autobiography and he is reading it with great relish. We are attempting to make plans when we can meet f2f and have a long visit. This whole issue brings me great excitement. Thanks for your comment.
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