Jean Barham ::: 1918-2009

The day my Grandmother died there was a magnolia tree out the window of her room. The sun was hitting it just right and there were Camillias in bloom. If she had been concious, she would have pointed out to me how beautiful the blooms were, or how much she loved watching the birds taking baths in the puddles outside. She wasn't concious, and pretty soon - she wasn't with us anymore.

I was the only person in the room when she passed away. I feel very grateful to have shared those last moments with her. She has been an integral part of the last 27 years of my life, and anyone who knows me well can attest to this. I was lucky to have a firey, independent, and sometimes kooky woman like her in my world.

A few days after she died my Dad recycled her classic Chevrolet Caprice. That car has been as much a fixture in our driveway as my Grandmother was in our lives. For the last several years it has been sitting inoperable at my parents home. My Grandmother couldn't drive anymore but she wasn't going to let them take the car away. So it sat in the driveway. Over the years it was the car she carried her crafts in, hit a Fed Ex truck with, carried her to and from the grocery store, and made sure she made it to Thelma's Beauty Parlor for hair appointments.


I really couldn't believe I would come back to my parents home and not see it there.
So before they towed the car out of the driveway I took a couple of photos. This Thanksgiving I will be so thankful for having been able to share so much of my life with a wonderful, frank, stubborn, and sometimes crazy driver like my Grandmother. She will be missed.