My Parents' Orphans

We were the quintessential small-town all-American family

with loving parents; I was the oldest of five children. We

loved small-town parades, picnics, my mom’s deviled eggs,

and fireworks. Dad was an Eagle Boy Scout leader, and Mom

was a Brownie Troop leader. We were the joyful, happy, traditional

family on your Hallmark greeting cards; the kind of

family Normal Rockwell used as models for his American

Family paintings.

And suddenly one morning, without even the smallest

warning—just like in the movies when there’s a horrible,

screeching, ripping sound and everything freezes, and the

picture you see on the screen literally rips into two jagged

pieces—our wonderful, happy, secure life…just ended. Poof!

Completely, permanently, and forever gone!

I was 13 years old and fatherless.

When I was 19 I added being motherless.

My four younger siblings and I were orphans.