Wed. @ Anderson To Say "Bye" To "Bo"

I can't blog too long tonight, as I'll be WAY off routine Wednesday morning.   Getting right to it, my grandmother's closest sibling passed away Sunday morning.  With that, I'll be traveling to my hometown of Anderson, SC early tomorrow morning.

Here's the first paragraph of her obituary (paraphrased) :  Mrs. Elizabeth “Bo” Brown Wakefield, age 94,... was a daughter of the late Joseph Dexter Brown and the late Frances Finley Brown. For 66 years, she was the devoted wife of David C. Wakefield, Jr. who died in 2008.

As you see, Mandy, Michael, and I are of the Brown family from the Upstate.  As I age and find relatives around South Carolina, the Brown family is where I find the most connections, by far (usually cousins, obviously).  You can also see where my girl, Finley, gets her name.  

For my Columbia, SC friends, there are more Finleys (with an "e") in South Carolina than you think!

Through my grandmother, Mimi, my memories of "Bo" are of a good and perhaps normal "great aunt" relationship.   That said, my bigger connection to "Bo" was via one of my best childhood friends, and cousin, John Wakefield.   For a while, John and I pretty much did everything together.  We rode bikes until called home, built forts and dams in the creeks, were soccer teammates, spent hours playing tether ball (remember tether ball???), attended Camp Greenville together, and were just plain buds.  Getting back to the point, our grandmothers, "Mimi" and "Bo", helped make most of these memories happen.   To me, that's "Bo."   I won't forget her.

So tomorrow, I'll climb in the car early and blow up I-26 to get to the cemetery by 10:00ish.  I'm anxious to see John, my cousin and friend.

I know John would agree as I type that we wouldn't be a 10th of the men we aspire to be without influences like his grandmother, Bo.

PS:  If you need anything real estate in Columbia, SC, email amandaqpyane@live.com or call 609-0526.   Thank you!