Memories Light the Corners of My Mind

 

Randy, Aunt Lorene and Kathy - August 2, 2025

A wedding reveals promises made while a funeral recounts promises kept. Yet, even though they're different on the surface, they both underscore the significance of commitment.

-- Anonymous 

 

A common saying is that weddings and funerals are the two occasions that bring families together, especially extended families who may not see each other often. These events, one celebrating new beginnings and the other marking the end of a life, create opportunities for family members to connect, share memories, and offer support.

 

  

Last weekend, we traveled to Houston for the memorial service of Gary Servos. Gary was married to Randy's Aunt Lorene. Lorene is Randy's mom, Marie's, younger sister. Randy's sister, Kathy, and her husband, Dave, and their two daughters - Amanda and Emily - also made the trip to Texas. We were glad to be the Kansas contingent. 

 

Weddings and funerals certainly weren't the only time we've gotten together with Randy's Texas-based family. But, there's usually a reason that familiar sayings work themselves into our collective consciousness. These life-marking events do seem to bring people together.

 

Garrick, Kathy, Gregory, Stacia and Randy

 

It gave Randy and Kathy an opportunity to reconnect with some of their first cousins. A side note: I blame my finger on the photo on my continuing less-than-perfect eyesight following cataract/glaucoma surgery. I never do that (though my Grandma Neelly was known for it, which I suppose, qualifies as another family memory).

 

As the slide show featuring highlights of Gary's life clicked by - frame after frame - I snapped photos of Gary and Lorene's wedding. Sixteen years ago, they arrived in Stafford, Kansas, for Jill's and Eric's wedding. On that hot August day, they remembered their own wedding day 50 years before at the Stafford United Methodist Church. I sent the photos to Jill and Eric, noting that the vintage photos were reminiscent of the ones taken at their own wedding.

 

Gary and Lorene's family all came to that 2009 wedding, and Gary and Lorene once again stood at the front of the church for a photo - 50 years after they'd celebrated their own union.  

So, I guess there is something to that "weddings and funerals" sentiment.

 

Jill and Eric on those same church steps as Gary and Lorene had come down.

 

Lorene remembered that their August wedding was hot - inside and out. Thankfully, the church had since been outfitted with air conditioning, though it struggled to keep the hot August weather at bay. She mentioned it again on Saturday. 

 

We didn't extend our time in Houston this time. (Back to that whole eyesight thing: It isn't conducive to sight-seeing at the moment since "seeing" is part of the root of the word.)

 

But we divided our trip both to and from into two days. On our return trip home, we finally succumbed to the billboards that dot I-135 from Oklahoma City to Dallas/Fort Worth. We've driven by those billboards for the Arbuckle Wilderness several times - whether on our way to K-State ballgames in Texas, trips to see family and vacations in Galveston at the Servos' beach house. 

 

So, yes: This time, we were the suckers who fell for the tourist trap. We pulled off the highway at Turner Falls and toured the Arbuckle Wilderness. 

 

We had a lady attempt to take our photo at the gate. But when I checked them as we left, I found that there were no photos of us at all. I hope my attempts for her family were better, but I guess we'll never know. I made Randy go back, and I snapped a few of just him. 

We did have several creatures who were glad to see us.

It took some of them awhile to realize that the open window was on Randy's side - not mine. 

We hope they'll use part of the admission price to improve the roads through the "wilderness." 

 

But I guess these are the moments in which memories are made, right?