Mom’s Books
Going way back...
In the late 60s/early 70s, Mom found herself with 4 boys and not much of an outlet for her artistic bug. She enjoyed painting, sculpting, and writing. (The last of which might be in the genes. Grandpa Berry was the editor of a state-wide newspaper for decades.)
One of her first forays into writing was a series of books she wrote, illustrated, and bound for her young sons. Being the last son to leave the nest and the greediest, I kept the books; making a few sets for family and friends but I've decided I'd like to share this bit of her earliest writing with a larger audience. Enjoy.
Family Conference
The book found here was written by my mother covering our 1979 search to find a place out in the country and ending with the last son (yours, [un]truly) leaving for college summer of 1986. It really happened.
The book found here was written by my mother covering our 1979 search to find a place out in the country and ending with the last son (yours, [un]truly) leaving for college summer of 1986. It really happened.
When Jeanne passed in 2003, she left a lot of writing; some small fraction of which is on this website. I remember Mom telling me about “FamCon” but I had always thought it was a spruced up collection of news columns. She’d already put out two those. Long story short: never really thought about. Nor did one of the Brothers; who left it on his bookshelf for….18 years? There it would have stayed even longer had not Brother’s daughter by marriage seen it on the shelf, read it, loved it, and then made bound copies for each of us Hardy Boys.
This…was a difficult read. Ever since I was given the boot right after graduation, I’ve been hearing heartwarming stories of our overcoming adversity through grit, luck, and a lot of help. Ha ha. Wasn’t that crazy when…..?
Yes. Yes, it was crazy.
Over three nights in fall of 2021, I devoured the book. Catastrophe after catastrophe. I remembered all or at least most of this stuff; the stuff about Gregg being such delinquent was new to me. Kept out of the loop. More likely kept myself out of the loop. The beginnings of withdrawing to my room.
Anyway, what my Brothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins see as a “Never Say Die Attitude”, I see as a seven year shit show; one that made me ask over and over, “Why?”
Unlike any of the family members above, I believe I have a unique perspective on the story. One of my few appearances in FamCon came towards the end of the book; as I was getting ready to leave for college. Mom asked me what I had thought about the move. Again, this was 7 years after the fact. I said I had never been for it. This shocked her. She asked why didn’t I didn’t say anything; either in ‘79 or in the years following?
“How do you stop an avalanche?” was my reply. Quite so, 18 year old me! My concerns were never germane to the Big Move.
Back to my unique perspective. First of all, unlike my older brothers who left Twisp for “The Coast” after only a couple-three years, I stayed there the whole time. No traveling to foreign countries. No moving off to Seattle or Bellingham and “visiting” Twisp. I was there, with Mom, from the first page to the last. And, unlike Mom, I’m not dead. She can only speak through her writing; which stopped in 2002. I’ve got plenty of perspective; tons of perspective, on the Family Con Experience. I just never realized it until I read the book.
Another reason for my unique perspective is that there’s another witness to my life in the mid-80s. My Wife Wendi was a good friend starting with her family’s move to Winthrop in ‘82. We didn’t start dating until my senior year but we socialized for a few years before that. For some reason, Harold&Tina took a liking to teenage me and they were always very welcoming to impoverished me; for which I’ll always be grateful.
So, Wendi knew some of the details but only our humorous retelling of really bat-shit stuff. When she read “FC”, she was livid. As far as I know, she is the only one who had such a reaction. I was sad. Wendi was furious. Two sides of the same coin.
She was sure if her parents had known it all, they would have done anything to help out. It also changed her view of my Mom; for the worse.
Anyway, my wife can vouch for many of the events listed within. My final bit of historical counterpoint was my Journal #1: started at the beginning my senior year. More evidence, but mostly of the fact that I was a Total and Complete Wanker from 17-19 years of age. An interesting artifact; one which should mostly stay in The Vault.
What hurts, what is so maddening, is that I got this book just a couple months after Dad passed away. I spent much of my teenage years being angry at him. Reading the book, I saw his side of things. It would have been nice to have a discussion about that. But that train has sailed.
So, this is Jeanne Hardy’s self-published book Family Con. Enjoy.
