Rachel looked at the mantle clock, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the girls. Her husband, Tom had just returned from the grocery store with a truckload of groceries. As they both put them away, Rachel realized that they had never seen the house so full of food. Normally, with just the two of them, they had just enough groceries to last them for a couple of weeks. However, now that their six great-granddaughters would be staying with them for the month, they needed to purchase additional supplies.
Rachel had come up with the idea for a family reunion, eleven months ago, on her eighty-fifth birthday. Rachel told her husband that she wanted to see the entire family together in Vincennes, Indiana just one time before she left the Earth.
Tom and Rachel selected July 4th, 2008 for the date of the reunion, since it was not only Rachel’s eighty-sixth birthday, but also because it was their seventieth wedding anniversary. They thought that twelve months would be enough time for everyone to arrange for time off work and make the necessary travel arrangements.
Tom and Rachel had six sons, who were all now in their sixties. They had all started their own families in different parts of the country, from New York to California. As their families grew, they visited less often. Instead, they would call, or write letters. Now, some of their sons had great-grandchildren of their own. Besides their sons, Tom and Rachel had twenty-one grandchildren, fifty-nine great-grandchildren, and twelve great-great- grandchildren. That did not even count the spouses.
The one thing that Rachel found very peculiar was that out of ninety-eight descendants, only six of them were female. Even more peculiar, was the fact that all six girls were her great-granddaughters, one descended from each of their sons, and all six of them were born on July 4th, 1992, which was also Rachel’s seventieth birthday, and their fifty-fourth anniversary.
Rachel was very religious and she looked at significant events as being part of God’s big plan. Rachel, herself, had been the female born in her direct line of the Rogers family, going clear back to the mid 1500’s.
The Rogers family had always been a close-knit group, always staying close geographically, but when Rachel married Tom Bradford, that all changed. As her sons got older, they wanted to get away from their home town of Vincennes.
Rachel felt that the Vietnam War was partly responsible for that. All six of her sons served in either the Army or the Marines and spent one or more tours in Vietnam. When they came home, they seemed different somehow, as if the war had stolen a part of them. Gradually, they all moved away from Vincennes, to the far corners of the United States.
At first, they would visit once or twice a year, but as their careers took off, and as their families grew, Tom and Rachel had to be satisfied with photos, letters and phone calls. Occasionally, one of them would bring their family for a visit, but not as often as Rachel would like.
Rachel wanted to spend more than one weekend with her great-granddaughters, so she and Tom arranged for all six of them to spend a whole month with them, with them going home with their parents after the reunion was over. Rachel felt a strong bond to those six girls whom she had never met before. She wanted to pass on family history, stories and traditions on to them, so that maybe the family would become closer.
Rachel heard the sound of engines outside, and when she opened the front door, she saw to taxicabs pulling into the driveway. Tom and Rachel went out to greet the firs arrivals. Before they could go into the house, the other four girls arrived in more taxis. When all six girls had arrived, they grabbed their luggage and followed their great-grandparents into the house.
Rachel showed the girls which rooms they would be sleeping in. The house was a big farmhouse built in 1938. There were seven bedrooms. Rachel put each girl in the room that had belonged to their grandfathers over forty years ago.
While Tom made lunch for the ladies, Rachel led the girls into the living room, so that they could become better acquainted. Rachel started, by introducing herself; “I am so excited about this visit. Since none of us knows each other, I would like each of you to introduce yourself and tell us some of your interests, and something about yourself that you are proud of. I will start”
“My name is Rachel Bradford. My maiden name was Rogers. I was born here in Vincennes in 1922. In addition, I will soon be eighty-six years old. In the Rogers family, I was the only female born into the direct family line, until you six girls came along. As you probably know, out of my ninety-eight descendents, you girls are the only females in the bunch. That makes each of you very special to me. However, what makes you extra special is that you were all born on July 4th, 1992, which was my seventieth birthday. This July 4th, will also be mine and your great-grandfather’s seventieth wedding anniversary.”
“My first ancestor in America was John Rogers, who came over from England aboard the Mayflower, along with your great-grandfather’s ancestor, William Bradford. Both of our families came to Vincennes in the 1820’s. Our families have owned this land for over one hundred eighty years. Our farms were next to each other, and when Tom and I inherited the family farms, we combined them into one large farm.”
“I had four older brothers, who I never really knew. They were born more than twenty years before I was, but unfortunately, they all were killed in battle during World War I. My father was fifty-two and my mother was forty-five when I was born. They were not expecting me. I believe that God sent me to them to help relieve the grief of losing their four sons.”
“I was sixteen and Tom was eighteen when we got married in 1938. My ancestry is a mix of English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh and German. Tom and I belong to the Pentecostal church.”
“My hobbies include knitting, sewing, making quilts and cooking. I made all of the quilts that are on your beds, more than fifty years ago.”
“Okay, that’s it for me. Who’s next?”
Chantel stood up first. She was five feet nine inches tall, with light brown complexion, dark braided hair and hazel eyes. She also had braces on her teeth.
“Hi. I am Chantel Renee Bradford. I was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where my family still lives. I have two older brothers. My mother writes children’s books and my father is a real estate attorney. We have a St. Bernard and a Siamese cat.”
“My mother is African-American and her family has been n America since the early 1700’s. My grandmother on my mother’s side is from Cuba. We belong to the Baptist church. I play the piano, and sing in the church choir. At school, I am a cheerleader, am on the swim team and in the photography club.”
Elizabeth was next. She was five feet seven inches tall, with light brown eyes, medium length brown hair and wore glasses.
“My name is Elizabeth Hanna Bradford, but everybody calls me Liza. I was born in San Francisco, California, and my family still lives there.”
“My paternal grandmother is of Chinese ancestry and her family has been in The San Francisco area since the 1840’s. My maternal grandmother is Japanese and my maternal grandfather is Korean.”
“We attend the Methodist church. I have one younger brother and we have an aquarium full of tropical fish. I play the Violin and like to ice skate. I am on the basketball team at my high school and am also in the computer club.”
“My mother runs a day care center out of our home and my father owns a fleet of fishing boats.”
Next up, was Angela. She was five foot four inches tall, with short dark brown hair, and dark brown eyes, and wore contact lenses.
“Hi, my name is Angela Lauren Bradford, but I go by Angie. I was born in Dallas, Texas where I still live with my parents, one older brother and two younger brothers. My parents work on the cattle ranch that we own, and we also own a riding stable.”
“My activities include softball and volleyball. I belong to the math and science clubs at my school. I sing in the high school choir, and am a member of the National Honor Society. My Dad’s mother is a mixture of Greek, German, and Russian heritage. My Mom’s father heritage is Hispanic and his family has lived in the Dallas area since the early 1800’s when it belonged to Mexico. My Mom’s mother is half Cherokee Indian and half Apache Indian.”
“We attend a Catholic church. I have my own horse, and we also have two pet rabbits.”
Helen was next. She was feet two inches tall, with short blonde hair and blue eyes.
“Hi, my name is Helen Cynthia Bradford, and I was born in Albany, New York, and we now live in New York City. I am an only child. My mother is a cardiologist and my father is an architect. We have a poodle and a goldfish.”
“At school, I sing in the choir, and play the drum in the marching band. I am in the history club and the ecology club. I like to ice skate and play golf.”
“My family is Jewish. My paternal grandmother is Irish and Italian, my maternal grandmother is Polish and my paternal grandmother is Russian and German.”
Next up, was Linda. She was five feet six inches tall, with medium length wavy brunette hair and green eyes.
“My name is Linda Ann Bradford. I was born in Phoenix, Arizona, but we now live in Provo, Utah. I have three younger brothers, and two hamsters and the hamsters make less of a mess. My father is a high school science teacher and my mother is an elementary school librarian.”
“We attend the Mormon church. My dad became a Mormon in high school, and he met my mother in Australia while on a mission trip.” My mother’s heritage is Australian, and my dad’s mother is part Egyptian, part Syrian and part Lebanese.”
“I am the junior class president at my school, and the assistant editor for the school newspaper. I run track and play the flute, but not at the same time. I also sing in my church choir.”
The last girl to introduce herself was Rhonda. She was five feet one inch tall, with long dark brown hair and light brown eyes.
“I am Rhonda Elaine Bradford. I was born in Seattle, Washington, where my family and I currently reside. I have one older brother and one younger brother. We also have two cats and an iguana. My father is a Registered Nurse and my mother is a pharmacist.”
“We are Lutherans. My heritage is a little confusion. My dad’s mom is Scandinavian and is a mixture of Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish ancestry. My mom’s dad was a native of Alaska and while stationed in Hawaii when he was in the Navy, he met and married my mom’s mom, who was Hawaiian, thus making my mom half native Alaskan and half native Hawaiian.”
“I play softball, and am on the swim team. I play the guitar and the harmonica and am on the yearbook staff.”
After everybody had introduced themselves, Chantel asked Rachel what they should call her.
She replied; “Whatever you feel comfortable calling me is fine; Rachel, Grandma, Grandma Rachel, you decide.”
“How about Nana?” asked Liza? The other girls quickly agreed that they liked that name, and they decided to call their great-grandfather; Papa.
While they were discussing the names, Angie had a very serious look on her face as she was writing in a notebook.
“What’s the matter, Angie?” asked Rachel.
“Well, I have a very analytic mind and I have always been intrigued by puzzles. I wrote down everybody’s names, so that I could remember who is who.”
Angie paused to think about something and Rhonda started to get impatient.
“And, this upsets you how?” she asked.
“Well”, began Angie, “This is really freaky. The first initials of our names, spell out Nana’s name, Rachel. Not only that, but our middle initials also spell out the name Rachel.”
The other girls crowded around Angie and looked at her notebook. They all agreed that it was too weird to be a coincidence.
Rachel told the girls that she believed that it was just another connection that they all had to each other.