The Longevity of Family Lore: The Ghosts

This post is inspired by the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks challenge by Amy Johnson Crow. The week 3 challenge is “Longevity”.

As defined, longevity means long life or long existence. Today, looking for inspiration, I asked Noodle if she knew what longevity meant. She just turned 11 so I didn’t expect a “yes”. I didn’t get one either. After I explained the meaning and told her it was my article theme for this week, she said I should write about ghosts! Yep. Ghosts. According to her, they “live” the longest of anyone. Of course, you have to believe in them to begin with, but she has a point. She also reminded me of the importance of the lives that have come before us. The ghosts. 

Ghosts. Spirits. The afterlife. Things that go bump in the night. Any way you put it, my Grandpa Raines believed. And he told stories about all the bumps in the night. He was a masterful storyteller, weaving history with family tales so well that you’d be swept away in your imagination. To him, ghosts weren’t scary, nor did they look like Casper. They simply were family and friends that, according to him, were waiting on the other side for him to get there. He talked about his ghosts all the time. Now, he’s one of my ghosts. 

Likewise, my daddy could spin a tale and would retell stories that had been passed down through his grandma’s family. He talked about the same ghosts … a lot! He also told the same stories … a lot. But I learned a lot, too, through his renditions of family lore. I heard stories of love and loss, French fur trappers, Black Hills Gold, Teddy and the Roughriders, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 World’s Fair), the Mob, even an old black goat! And in all of that excitement was at least one grandparent or great-grandparent. His stories also instilled in me a sense of belonging, and an understanding of the importance of history. He’s one of my ghosts, now, too. 

All of these stories are carried through the generations of this family and create ties between the living generations and those who have long since departed their Earthly lives. The ghosts.

At least in part, we can understand who our ghosts were and how they lived by sharing their lives through story. I would like to think all families have “ghost stories” but I know that’s not the case. I do consider myself blessed that family lore is rampant here, even when I find evidence that contradicts the stories. I hear the ghosts laughing now. 

Longevity is important in this sense. As long as we continue to tell stories of our ghosts and our living, we tie ourselves to the generations that come after us. And we tie them to their ghosts. One day, Noodle will be telling her grandchildren about great-great grandpa Raines … the one who believed in ghosts. And the ghosts will continue to live. The longest of anyone.