Burying Bootsie
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We'll do that at around 11 this morning. Country church, country cemetery. Glad I'm not one of the pallbearers, there's a lot of vaults in this cemetery and sometimes it's a balancing act and a grunt to get a coffin in place. I'll be helping to get the food together, along with the wife, her mom and an aunt. I figure we'll feed 50-60 or so.
Bootsie married into the family and was my wife's aunt. Four kids, ten grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren. Been knowing this was coming for awhile, leukemia is an unrelenting disease. But life was good and we all die eventually.
We all remember people in our lives for certain singular traits or talents. Well, Bootsie could sing. Always could. Some of her old scrapbooks contained snippets of newspaper, with an article and maybe a picture of some Texas high school honor choir she was in or some talent competition she had won as a teenager or young woman. Pursuing a career in music wasn't for her, though, especially not after she met my wife's uncle. Tall, dark-headed, big man. I don't think she even came up to his shoulder.
Even as they had their children, Bootsie still found time to sing. Just typical country stuff...A solo at church, weddings, funerals, with the family on the front porch on a Friday night. As the kids got a little older, she sang with a local gospel quartet. Did that for several years. I guess some of the most fun she had, was after the kids were grown. Her and her husband bought a travel trailer and started to hit the bluegrass festivals.
For those who don't know, a lot of the real fun at a bluegrass festival occurs after the scheduled acts have played. Folks will bring their instruments, gather up and jam half the night away. Bootsie might play guitar, but usually she had an upright bass and she'd join in the fun, singing lead or harmony.
Sure hope the Angel Choir can put up with the thump of a bluegrass base...
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I think she was a fun lady. You were lucky to know her.
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I think she was a fun lady. You were lucky to know her.
@taiwan_girl said in Burying Bootsie:
I think she was a fun lady. You were lucky to know her.
A big +1 to that.
She was always welcome at the party, and made it more fun. May we all have the same said of ourselves.
