April 17, 1947

Seventy-two years ago, Virgil Hoyt Bradley and Marion Cleo Jones Bradley had their first and only child. Virgil was 41 and Cleo was 38--not unusual ages today, but unheard of back then.

The child was born in Welch Memorial Hospital, in Welch, West Virginia, 18 miles from where they lived in Anawalt.

And, surprise, surprise, that baby was me.

My father was working in his brother, Russel's, grocery store-the H and S market in Anawalt and my mother was a school teacher.

At the time of my birth, Virgil was a Hard Shell Baptist and my mother was a Pilgrim Holiness. Later, we would all become Methodists.

My mother died when I was 25 but my father lived to see his grandchildren and to know I had been ordained as an Episcopal priest--something no one on either side of the family would have thought possible. Plus, I was the second in my family on either side to marry a Roman Catholic! Who to my surprise, was received into the Episcopal Church after 7 years of marriage.

My mother was a Democrat and my father a Republican (though he wouldn't recognize his party today!!!) Both were 'conservative' in many ways. And I'm a Democratic Socialist. Go figure.

I slept until 9:30 a.m., ate a Belgian waffle and bacon for breakfast, had Manhattan clam chowder for lunch, a piece of my birthday cheese cake and we went to dinner and I had more spare ribs that anyone could eat--and will be eating them for two more days.

Tomorrow is Maundy Thursday, my favorite Holy Day and then Good Friday and our children and grand-daughters arrive on Holy Saturday.

"All will be well and all will be well and all manner of things will be well."  --Julian of Norwich