March 12, 2023
Grundy. It is odd to feel so deeply rooted and connected to a place in which I have never lived…and maybe more telling…have never spent more than 72 hours at a time visiting. But those steep, closely formed mountains with houses perched on every flat surface the deep, winding hollers can provide is buried in the depths of my soul. The lore of old family tales trickles down the creek and teases in the wind.
We lost my great aunt Sis last week. She spent the last several years in the kind of assisted living facility you hope to end up in- one that is kind, caring, and takes the best care of its residents. Christmas of 2019, the doctors predicted Sis had a month or two left….and here we are four years later! My dad and I went to see her last summer, she was able to recognize my dad after we told her who he was…. I was a friendly stranger to Sis. She smiled at me, gave me a hug when we went to leave, but there was no recognition.
The funeral was simple, fifteen of us gathered in the funeral home chapel where we have said goodbye to many family members over the years. The drive down to the cemetery was a solemn procession of five cars slowly winding their way down the ever curving mountain roads, with oncoming traffic pulling over to offer condolences in a momentary acknowledgement of stillness.
Every trip back to Grundy is a punch to the heart. With family dwindling, the main reasons to visit are gone. And you don’t really pass through a place like Grundy; it is out of the way and a destination unto itself…
I continue to be ever thankful for the timing of The Bluegrass Project of 2019. I spent hours with Sis that year, combing her already faltering memory for stories of the family, enjoying her smile and occasional laugh. To capture a moment in Dry Fork Holler, to sing into the musical ancestry that runs in my veins. To breathe in the mountain air and remember my foolish, talented grandfather and his siblings. Rest well Sis. You were deeply loved. Thank you for always opening your home to us, for having store bought chocolate cake and instant coffee, for answering endless questions and telling us to come back soon.