the greats.

Somewhere I have a photo of me, my dad, my grandmother (Mimi) and my great-grandmother (Mammaw Alexander). We are standing on the porch at Mammaw's house. I am two and clearly tentative, clinging to Mimi's hand, unsure about this whole scene, even though Mammaw--never a large woman--was shrunken and wisened so that I am sure I could have knocked her over with a single chubby push.

As far as I know, that is the only time I met a great-grandparent.

Jack has three living great-grandmothers, two in England and one in Dallas. I don't think I have to tell you that the one with the gigantic earrings is the one from Big D. (Incidentally, she wants to be called Big Nanny--from Big D?--and since she is now all of 5'1'' I just can't do it. I told her we could call her Nanny-cita or "little Nanny" in spanglish.)

I think he benefits from longer life expectancy and younger great-grandmothers on Richard's side of the family. I am anxious for him to meet Olive and Doris. He is the latest in a brood of boys that they have been loving for more than thirty years. It is my hope that they will have plenty of time to love on this boy too.

When my grandmother came to visit us in the hospital, we had a conversation that we've had many times over the last fifteen years. She said she wished that my grandfather (who is one of Jack's namesakes) could be here to see this new J.P. I agreed.

I told her that I felt he had a connection to all the "greats" on my side of the family as he is named John Phillip Stafford after her husband who was John Phillip Ruth. His nickname is Jack, just like my other grandfather. And he happened to be born on the day that my Mimi died. I suppose that should be sort of morbid, but I like to think that it shows that all things--even sorrow--really can be made new. Somehow these tenuous connections, these things that may mean nothing to him, they are everything to me. They help him to share a story that began long before he was born. They remind him that he is connected to these people who flew planes and fought Hitler, who danced to big bands and who had big dreams. They were the greatest generation. Now they are the greats.

So I said to my grandmother, "And of course, you get to meet him in real life."

My Aunt Judy said, "Aren't you the lucky one."

"Yes I am," said Nanny-cita.

Yes we are.