Until 5 years ago, I had no idea who Corrine Kelly was. She is now the only cousin I have ever met. She is a portal into my past and a friend of our common presence. Five years ago I received this letter from her:
Dear David:
You do not know me and I’m sure my name is entirely unfamiliar to you, and yet you and I are related: 1st cousins 2x removed. I have spent a good deal of the last five years studying the genealogy of our family. My father’s name is Sean Kelley, but that was not his name at birth. His birth name was Kelly Corey. The last name Corey may mean something to you, as your mother was born a Corey. As you know, she was given up for adoption at the age of three. My great-grandfather was her brother who committed suicide at the age of 29. My grandfather was Big Roy Corey, the infamous wrestler, and your first cousin. Big Roy, who I assume you have never met, makes an appearance in the attached Rod Stewart music video. He was quite a character.
Enclosed you will find a series of newspaper articles regarding the Corey family back to the time of your own grandfather. I have no idea how much you know about them or want to know about them, but just in case you are curious the articles may shed some light on why your mother was given up for adoption. While it seems an awful thing to be given away by your own parents, her adoption was likely her salvation as well.
The Corey family was so disreputable and troubled that my father decided he needed to change his name and start fresh without the burden of the Corey legacy. He made his first name his last name and took the name Sean as his first, and so I was born Corrine Kelly rather than Corey.
Should you like to know more, or perhaps just meet a blood relation, I’ve attached my contact information along with the newspaper clippings of our common ancestors. You may want nothing to do with any of this ro me and I would totally understand and respect your decision on that account. In any event, I wish you well cousin. Should you want to get in touch, I would be honored to meet you.
Sincerely, your distant cousin, Corrine
I didn’t respond to Corrine’s letter for a month. The information Corrine sent entirely changed my sense of history and self.
I did finally call her. She is the first blood relation I have ever met other than my mother, and we look shockingly alike.
— DanielSouthGate
Dear David:
You do not know me and I’m sure my name is entirely unfamiliar to you, and yet you and I are related: 1st cousins 2x removed. I have spent a good deal of the last five years studying the genealogy of our family. My father’s name is Sean Kelley, but that was not his name at birth. His birth name was Kelly Corey. The last name Corey may mean something to you, as your mother was born a Corey. As you know, she was given up for adoption at the age of three. My great-grandfather was her brother who committed suicide at the age of 29. My grandfather was Big Roy Corey, the infamous wrestler, and your first cousin. Big Roy, who I assume you have never met, makes an appearance in the attached Rod Stewart music video. He was quite a character.
Enclosed you will find a series of newspaper articles regarding the Corey family back to the time of your own grandfather. I have no idea how much you know about them or want to know about them, but just in case you are curious the articles may shed some light on why your mother was given up for adoption. While it seems an awful thing to be given away by your own parents, her adoption was likely her salvation as well.
The Corey family was so disreputable and troubled that my father decided he needed to change his name and start fresh without the burden of the Corey legacy. He made his first name his last name and took the name Sean as his first, and so I was born Corrine Kelly rather than Corey.
Should you like to know more, or perhaps just meet a blood relation, I’ve attached my contact information along with the newspaper clippings of our common ancestors. You may want nothing to do with any of this ro me and I would totally understand and respect your decision on that account. In any event, I wish you well cousin. Should you want to get in touch, I would be honored to meet you.
Sincerely, your distant cousin, Corrine
I didn’t respond to Corrine’s letter for a month. The information Corrine sent entirely changed my sense of history and self.
I did finally call her. She is the first blood relation I have ever met other than my mother, and we look shockingly alike.
— DanielSouthGate
Fictionalized truth, or complete fiction or total truth - this is beautifully written. Captivating
ReplyDeleteWell, you got me! Totally believeable.
ReplyDeleteWow. Just think. A professional wrestler. I could definitely get into that.
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering, with Lkai, about how much of this is fiction. Because we DO know somet things about you. But I know from some of your other writings that you have more "blood" relations than this letter-writer. But of course, we combine these things! "Flash Fiction" cannot be entirely separated from our "real lives." So many American lives have things in common, too, so we are swimming in a sea of fictionalized reality or real fiction all the time. Really great family history details, either way! ---Macoff
ReplyDeleteYes there's at least 40% truth in this one. The newspaper clippings of a disreputable family, name change on the part of my mom's brother's decendents, Rod Stewart Video with Big Ray in it, mom being given up for adoption, only blood relation on my mom's side, all true parts.
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