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Reunion
August 06th, 2018
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This past weekend I went to the Tomasino family reunion in Ohio.
It was good to see my sister and her family, and to run into all
the other relatives that I haven't seen since I was my son's age.
It was nice for him to experience a reunion as well. He doesn't
see anyone but my wife and I most of the time since we don't live
near any of our family and soon will be moving much further away.
I like to say that my sister inherited all the roots and I got all
the wanderlust. My parents and their parents all grew up in
Youngstown, Ohio, where our immegrant ancestors all settled. They
were fruitful and multiplied and most of the brood has remained
fairly close to that nexus. When my parents married they moved
away chasing work leading to my sister and I being born in
Virginia. We lived there briefly and then a few years in Maryland
before heading to New Jersey where we both completed high school.
That was enough for my Sister. She went to college back in
Youngstown and never left again. All the years growing up she
talked about going "back" and she didn't hesitate.
I took the other approach. Growing up away from extended family,
I learned to love the move. After high school I did a brief stint
in college before joining the Navy. I moved a lot in the service,
and then a lot more afterwards. After college #2 and grad school,
the moves continued. I've managed to live in 15 states now, and
I'm thrilled to get out of the United States finally.
On the one hand, I think I can thank my sister for my own freedom
of place. She is an anchor in the family that allows me to float
free. While we were in Ohio I spent a few days in her company
wandering Youngstown, Austintown, Struthers, and Lowellville. In
every single place we stopped, be it restaurant or school or
grocery or playground, we met someone that knew her well enough to
stop by and talk. She is so entwined with the place it is a part
of her and she of it. My brother-in-law functions in the same way.
His family owns so much local farm-land and have roots so far back
it doesn't make sense. He is an engineer who built this or that as
we drove around, and who coaches this team and that team, or
helped review the building plans for this guy's daughter's shop.
It's a fascinating life they have, and I'm so happy they get to
have it.
That sort of thing may not appeal to me personally but I can see
the glamour in it and the comfort it can provide. I have no
argument against it. It's just not for everyone.
She and my brother-in-law talk about how exciting it will be for
my family to go abroad, but how they could never do it. I see why,
and it isn't sad at all. We have chosen vastly different paths and
both are thrilling in their own way.
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At the reunion itself we had a few fun surprises:
- My neice found out her science partner in school last year was
actually her long lost cousin. If I have my math right, they're
4th cousin's once removed, but it is a little tricky...
- My great, great grandfather was married twice. The daughter
from his first marriage married the brother of his second wife.
Go ahead and unpack that a little while. I'll wait.
- My cousin is the production manager for Hamilton on Broadway!
- My 98 year old grandpa has been listening to the same GE radio
for 50 years. It still works perfectly. Ridiculous.
- I'm related to pretty much the entire town of Lowellville,
Ohio. Here's a video from the 30s and 40s of the town
celebrating a wedding in the 30s and the Feast of Our Lady of
Mt Carmel (July 16th, 1946)[0]. I watched this with my grandpa
and he named pretty much everyone in here at a glance. The guy
with the suave hair at 13:13 is my great uncle, my grandpa's
brother. He was a funny guy.
(HTM) [0] Lowellville Ohio
- The best part of the parade is the Baby Doll Dance [1]
(HTM) [1] Baby Doll Dance