Shortly after I returned from my Thanksgiving holiday in Detroit, I jetted off yet again — this time, to [not-so] sunny Southern Florida.
While most of my relatives are rooted in Detroit, handfuls from my grandparents’ generation established adult lives outside of the Michigan mitten in Florida and in New York.
My maternal grandmother’s sister, my Auntie Molly, moved to Florida fifty-five years ago, and while geographically removed from the majority of the family, the anecdotes that she shared during my weekend trip proved that she has managed to stay very much in the loop.
I write about my family often; I’m quite fond of them.
My entire trip down to Florida was lovely — even the hour-long schlep we made from Jupiter to Fort Lauderdale at 4 a.m. to return our rental car — but my favorite thing was spending several hours with my Great Aunt and my mom, talking about her upbringing, and learning of her past as a writer.
I’m in the process of reading A Prayer for the Departed by my cousin Bill Broder.
Between Bill, his wife Gloria, and one other cousin in publishing, I thought I had interacted with all of the writers of their generation.
I was wrong.
My Aunt Molly pulled out a metallic silver binder full of clippings from a column called, “Molly’s Moments.”
Not sure of what to expect, I read through, one by one, and quickly became drawn to her tongue-and-cheek writing style.
In a post not far off in the future, I’ll share “Molly’s Moments” with you, in hopes that you’ll find them equally as entertaining.
Another quick note: I’m often a literary hard-sell, and began reading Bill’s book (mentioned above) out of familial curiosity. That said, I’ve had a hard time putting it down. Bill writes a very warm collection of stories from his youth — stories that take a look at the dynamics of a Jewish American family living in Detroit, Michigan. But the themes in his book extend beyond geography and religion. I highly recommend it as a curious mind, and not as a cousin.