Monday, November 30, 2009

Stick Around: Things Get Interesting


My husband's great aunt is a remarkable woman. She was born in 1926. She left a tiny Texas town for Stanford University. She held on to her maiden name and practiced law in San Francisco during the heyday of male chauvinism in the 1960's. She and my husband's great uncle reared four children. They also built a mansion in the city, they owned vacation properties in the USA, they bought art, and they loved every moment of life together. Today my husband's great aunt is still enjoying life.

As a widow in her early 80's she became an extra in movies and an elderly model for print advertisements. Why not? That's her in a Kaiser Permanente print advertisement that ran in the National Geographic magazine. I love this ad. Look at the tag line in the ad: Stick Around: Things Get Interesting. If you'll notice the family surrounding her is extremely diverse. It's a great message. Her family is also extremely diverse.

I will always adore the fact that my husband's great aunt and great uncle came back to Austin, Texas in the spring of 2006 to attend their great-nephew's gay wedding ceremony. We were so broke after our wedding that we stayed at their beach house (for free) for our honeymoon. It's so nice to feel loved by the remarkable people in your family.

2 comments: