Dancing with My Brother

For the day, my brother, John, and I, were hosts at the Walter Anderson Cottage. The cottage was on the list of buildings restored by the Mississippi Heritage Trust after hurricane Katrina hit the coast in 2005. "Preservation Trail" gave people an opportunity to tour the places on the list. Our father's cottage had been seen by few since the storm, so it was of interest to many. This week has been full with cleaning and other preparations by John, various friends, and sometimes me. The Walter Anderson Museum loaned objects and furniture made by Daddy, and it was truly lovely to see the cottage looking more as it used to look before the museum was built. 

Just before people arrived, I took a few photographs of John and of the cottage as I knew things would be returned to the museum in the afternoon. John began the tour and I was to relieve him at lunchtime for an hour or so, and he did leave for a while, but when he returned we found that the partnership of brother and sister...and the different viewpoints represented, worked well and made for a pleasurable time for all. Both of us have lived in the cottage at different times in our lives (not when our father was alive), and because of this we harbor a fondness for the building that is probably apparent in our sharing of the space. Besides, my brother and I have always danced well together. I guess it was just another dance. A lovely and loving sort of dance that we could share...

I am sharing a few extra photos of the cottage and John, and one John took of me. The table is the blue jay table; see the legs. I liked it in cyan. A self-portrait by my father is seen on the cupboard. Notice how much John resembles him. The cows were painted by Daddy in the bathroom over the tub. Cold baths meant a whole lot of splashing.