We travelled to Pennsylvia last weekend for my grandmother's memorial service. The long ordeal of missed plane connections and lost luggage makes for a dramatic re-telling, but the real heart of the story comes from the connections made with our family.



Mercer is a tiny little town, about an hour north of Pittsburgh. My mother grew up there on South Pitt Street, just around the corner from the cemetary where she and my dad and my grandparents are buried. The above picture (photoshopped by my brother Bob) is of the courthouse where my granddad was a county clerk. Across the street from the courthouse is the Lunchbox restaurant, where we got two full breakfasts ($3.25 each) and drinks for five of us, for under $11. The nice man who had just opened the restaurant hopes to make a go of it. The downtown is basically 4 blocks large, surrounding the courthouse. Each block has 3 or 4 businesses in it.. antique shop, candy counter, etc. The streets around the courthouse are graced with lovely victorian homes.



I enjoyed getting to spend time with all of my siblings. Scott and I sang some songs, with Scott and his son Ray on mandolin and guitar. John and I attempted to sing Onward Christian Soldiers in Grandma's honor. The nieces and nephews are all so beautiful and handsome and intelligent. We all live in different parts of the country, so getting together is especially sweet.

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