Eula

Eula Irene Conner Frazier died in the early hours of January 1st. She was daddy's aunt (daddy's mom and Eula were half-sisters, having the same father, William Conner). She was married to Bud (who died when I was in elementary school). She had a son, Tommy, who was more like a brother to daddy than a cousin.

Bud and Eula raised daddy, after he was tossed about in various foster homes. So, Eula was the closest thing daddy ever had to a mom.

When I was young, I remember going to Greenhill to visit the Fraziers. Tommy, his wife Frances, their girls Debbie and Delta, and Bud and Eula. I didn't understand who these people were at first, because they called daddy Jimmy and called me Michelle. Later I learned that everyone who knew daddy when he was young called him Jimmy. And that they were originally told my name would be Michelle (before daddy named me Donna), so the name stuck.

I'm sure we didn't visit the Fraziers too often since we lived in Florida most of my young life. But, a few memories have stuck with me over the years, and walking back into the Frazier home today brought back all those memories and more...

... roller skating around the concrete porch a million times
... eating frozen blueberries from the deep freezer in the basement
... the smell of fresh produce from the garden that hits you when you walk in the side porch
... memories of the week long visit Stephanie and I had at the Frazier house... fruity pebbles every morning... sleeping in the living room floor every night, except for the night of the thunderstorm, when we moved to Frances and Tommy's bedroom floor ... Eula and Frances cooking three meals a day
... spending a Christmas at the house, getting our fake Cabbage Patch dolls from Santa
... setting up a haunted room, complete with the automatic piano (the kind with the parchment paper songs on a reel, where the piano keys play by themselves)
... riding a horse (and falling off) with Delta and Stephanie
... going to the auction house to sell produce and gathering buckets full of fool's gold rocks from the railroad tracks

Now Debbie has two grown girls, Delta is living next door with her husband and son, Cole, and Eula is gone. She was 81.

It was good to see everyone, despite the circumstances. They dug out some old pictures from when we were little, and Delta made some copies for me. The house looks exactly the same as it did when I was little. The only difference I noticed was that Debbie and Delta's old room is now a playroom for Cole.

It was interesting, driving to Greenhill and home again today. The roads didn't seem nearly as curvy or mountainous as they did when I was a child. I guess now that I've lived in NC all these years, I've become accustomed to the hills and curves.

Delta asked Cole to tell me where Eula is now. He waved his arm in front of him like a bird soaring and said, "Fly... Jesus."

Rest in peace, Eula.

Delta, Eula, and me (circa 1978)

Momma (pregnant with me) and daddy

Me, Delta, and Stephanie