Outside, winter in all the ways I want to enjoy cold weather... the white stuff falling out of the sky...red cardinal streaks chirping their way to the backyard feeders... thinking about the frozen words of Carl Sandburg... wondering where our favorite tailor, Karl Smith, former Alabama A&M professor and tailor to the stars (Little Richard, Martha Reeves of Martha Reeves and the Vandellas, to name a few) keeps his old Alfa Romeo motor vehicles... do Stan, Jerry, Kevin and the other Alfa Romeo gearheads still gather once a month at Ed's?
Beside me, a cloth portfolio designed to fit into the glove compartment of an Alfa Romeo sedan/saloon. Inside the portfolio, a tire inflation gauge and pockets for automobile instruction manuals. Above me, a metal sign for the Chrysler Corporation Mopar Parts Division. Overhead, small scale models of a Triumph TR3 (A or B? I can't tell from here), 1962 Dodge Lancer, 1976 Street Custom Chevy Nova, 1995 Ford Ranger XLT, Chevron Cars "Riley the Roadster," Ferrari Dealership, ZIL-115 (limousine that Gorbachev used), Ferrari Testarossa convertible, 2008 Tesla Roadster, 1963 Alfa Romeo TZ1, 1990s-era Alfa Romeo Spider and Plymouth Prowler.
On this continent, the spread of 系列 (keiretsu) and other forms of business practice like 改善 (kaizen). I mentioned that my father gave me an autographed photo of Dr. Juran, didn't I? Ideas bounce around like rubber balls on the epoxied surface of this planet. Business process improvement. Climate change trends. Automotive design.
You can find who you want to be through many daily rituals, if you want. Step out of your cultural comfort zone. Observe the many ways of love and family. Here's a tribute to one side of my family - an article from the 27th May 1886 edition of the Maryville Times:
Death of Mrs. Teeferteller[NOTE (per Peck's Memorial United Methodist Church Heritage Highlights): When Peck's was started as a Sunday School class about 1820, the Teffetellers (modern-day spelling) had been in Blount County for seven years. The parents and three sons came from Lincoln County, North Carolina, in 1813. One of the sons, Joseph, and his wife, Elizabeth, settled in the community and were the parents of nine children. It is from this couple that most of the Teffetellers at Peck's Chapel are descended. In the 1830 census, the family lived in the third house from the widow, Margaret Wilkinson, and the church. In 1845, that great Irish preacher, George Eakin (Ekin?), lists Peck's Chapel as one of his appointments (Peck's would have been a Methodist Episcopal Church, South, at that point).]
Died, May 23rd, 1886, at her home near Maryville, Mrs. Elizabeth Teeferteller, wife of Joseph Teeferteller. We attended her funeral yesterday at Peck's Chapel, and notwithstanding the rain quite a large congregation of sorrowing friends were present.
Mr. and Mrs. Teeferteller were the oldest couple in the county. He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and was married soon after. He claims to be 96 and his wife 92, and they were possibly over that. For about 70 years they have walked hand in hand along the lane of life.
She died saying she was going to heaven, and exhorting children and friends to meet her there.
J.W. Carner
Maryville, Tenn.
May 25th, 1886
Not too many months ago, in 2009, we buried my uncle at Peck's. The family home's still there across the street from Peck's and next to the cemetery. In the graveyard, stones list names, birthdays and death dates but say little about the lives of the people and their changing community.
To my deceased uncle and my living relatives in the Teffeteller family, I say, "Hurrah!" Our family gatherings may be few and far between since the family matriarch and patriarch passed away decades ago, but we still share a heritage worth remembering and celebrating, with cousins who have lived and continue to travel across the globe. Our ancestors traveled rough roads of many continents and carved a place into the environment they called their own as one generation after another moved west. Now, with the rest of the world population, we share one planet, families and heritage important but not tied to one spot. We have joined with our brothers and sisters of many heritages. May others learn to follow our positive examples and put aside negative stereotypes. We know the planet belongs to everyone now. Let's keep teaching and enlightening the rest of the world to see our vision for a better tomorrow. Together, we will make our dreams a reality, treating all heritages equally, leaving no one behind and not putting anyone ahead of another.
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