Dear Cousinettes:
Our family has some terrific family traditions that we are counting on you to learn and pass on. There is no way I can list them all because they are still being developed. One that I will start with goes back to my Granddad John Wheat. He was born in 1870 and died in 1960 (I think. I am sure I will get correction if I am wrong, but I think I am close.) This is a picture of him at age 70 doing a headstand. The picture was taken in September of 1939, 72 years ago. If Granddad were still alive that would make him 142. Why, you might ask, would a 70 year old man do a headstand? I would ask, why not?
I have taken it on myself to continue this tradition and encourage you to do the same. Do you see the family resemblance? This September have someone take a picture of you doing
a headstand and post it on facebook. If you can't do it it is time to learn. Then give your parents and aunts and uncles a hard time for not following suit. (Teasing people is also an important family tradition to which I am deeply committed.)We have other family traditions that are worthy of mention but you may have to do some research and collaboration to continue them. I will name them in no particular order.
Grampa George's Chili: My dad made some killer chili. I think that your Uncle Butch has the recipe (and Zack would be the perfect candidate to pick up this torch. He is a very good cook, although he should consider dating some lady firefighters.) Dad would cook his chili when we had the Dairy Boy Drive In in Fort Cobb. Years after, he would stand in the kitchen at FC and the vultures would begin to gather. All the cousins (these would be the parents of cousinettes) would hover around until he served it up. Dad would fuss over his chili like a mother hen fusses over a nest. He would tinker and taste and adjust and smell until it was just right. And it was always just right. A tradition worthy of keeping.
Grandma Foy's Coconut Cream Pie: I really don't know who has this recipe but I can tell you that my Mom was a virtuoso of pie. Her coconut cream, chocolate cream and pumpkin pie covered the entire kitchen every holiday when we would eat so much dinner we would have no room for pie--but that didn't stop us. Some cousinette needs to step up and learn to make some of these pies.
Tormenting the youngest cousin: I am not sure when this tradition started. I am sure Traci can help me out with this. I remember when she was the youngest cousin, Debi, Laura, Pam, Sheri, Vicki and Kelly would go to the back room at Mom and Dad's house and wouldn't let her play. Traci was so relieved when Sara was born so she could join the tormentors. Not sure we want this to continue, but I am not sure we can stop it.
Playing Games: We have long been a family of domino players, card players, and game players. Gamesmanship was an important part of the contest. I would watch TV while playing Skip-Bo with your
great aunt Nelda, which would drive her crazy when I won. When playing hand and foot, Grampa George would count the cards that Mom gave him one at a time, out loud while facing her, much to her annoyance. It was very entertaining. Which brings us to one of the most famous moments of the tribal game tradition--Pulling a Vicki! A group of us, including Cousin Vicki, were playing a board game one day. Vicki was not having the best day and it became apparent that she was going to be the L _ _ _R. As the game drew to a close, she put both hands under the board and flipped it in the air sending cards and tokens flying and walked away. This is not a tradition that we have carried on but one that we have laughed about and teased Vicki about for decades. (Glad you got that anger thing under control Vicki.)Competition: When Cousin Laura and Cousin Debi were in high school, Laura lived in Fort Cobb and Debi lived in Carnegie. They played each other in basketball and it was fun to watch. I bet you could still get an argument going if you got them talking about some of the games. Cousinette Haley and Daniel remind me of them a lot.
Giggling to
incontinence: One of my favorite sounds in the universe is that of 
my nieces giggling so uncontrollably that eventually one of them jumps up and runs to the ladies room at risk of dampening their drawers. If there were an academy award for giggling the nominees would be Traci--she squints when she giggles; Debi--she would be the first to run; Vicki--contagious laugh; a new and rising star cousinette Lauren--she has a lot of promise; and cousinette Callie who could develop into a real snicker champ.I am sure there are other traditions worthy of note and important to continue, but that is where you come in. Latch on to the ones that cause you to smile when you are all alone and they come to mind. The ones that cause you to remember your family. Start some new ones that we haven't thought of yet, but don't forget to include your elders. We want to play too!
Love and laughter go hand in hand. It is very hard to have the one without the other. Laughing at ourselves and each other is an important part of who we are as a family and who we will be in the future.
Your crazy uncle
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