The Original Seven

There was a movie - a Western movie, to be more precise - called "The Magnificent Seven." I really only remember the title of it, but I think a sequel was made called "The Magnificent Seven Ride." The movie was made in the 1960's, so nowadays the sequel could well be called "The Magnificent Seven Crowd the Sidewalk with their Walkers."

I mention this movie because the title could well apply to my generation of my family. The family spans four generations, and with the recent arrival of my niece Bonnie's first grandchild, the fifth generation of the family has made its initial appearance.

Each generation has sort of created its own identity. The brash and arrogant members of the generation after mine decided to informally declare themselves "The Cool Kids." We will not burst their bubble and remind them that calling yourselves "cool" is probably the best evidence that, in reality, you are anything but cool.

Whoops, there goes the bubble.

That generation went so far in their labeling as to name my generation. We are, in their parlance, "The Original Seven."

This is where the movie title would have served a much better purpose. First off, we are not the Original Seven, or at least, we certainly are not original. Mom and Dad's generation were vast in their number - Mom's more so than Dad's, but still the families were numerous. And going back in our family genealogy, it can be found many of our forefathers and their fore families were prodigious at expanding the family - or they figured out a way to keep warm in the winter.

To call ourselves original removes dozens upon dozens of stories about Big Papa and Big Mama, Uncle Billy, Aunt Christine and all of Mom's siblings. And the family without stories about Uncle Bob and Uncle Dick, Aunt Hazel and all of Dad's family is just not the family. So, Cool Kids, who are they? The Cro-Magnon Generation?

I can sort of see their point in naming our generation "The Original Seven." For many of the "Cool Kids," life begins with them. So the generation before must be explained, and for that reason we are the "Originals."

We are sort of an original group. Everyone we know is astounded that the seven of us don't hate each other or hold petty jealousies towards each other. Of course, a lot of the people that know our family do not really believe I exist - that I am a sort of phantom, heard about but never seen. Rumor has it that a family friend actually tried to take my place in the family group after claiming I did not really exist.

Gary, you knew better. But I forgive you.

It has become a status symbol to be an Original Seven member. It is an exclusive club - I seriously doubt anyone else can gain membership. The Original Seven's spouses, while loved and revered, cannot even claim an equal status in the family hierarchy because we are the ones who lived through the raising by Harold and Sue. To be more honest, it was probably more a case of Harold and Sue living through raising seven children.

We tell stories. True stories, although everyone remembers them differently. Stories that get us laughing so hard at each other that we just start crying and holding our sides. And Mom provides the perfect foil.

When we last got together, we disputed a claim about the grades we made in grammar school. In mere moments, Mom swooped into the room and dropped a pile of papers in front of each of us - all of our report cards from school, from kindergarten through senior year. She not only kept them, but knew exactly where they were. Not bad for 82, huh?

We Originals don't keep to ourselves. We talk to the children and our siblings' children and tell them stories and try to pass on to them our wisdom and expertise on life. What they do with it is their problem.

We are, after all, magnificent, each of us in our own way. We deserve the title if, for no other reason, we managed to raise each and every Cool Kid. Just as we owe our development and character to our parents, the Cool Kids are who they are, in no small part, through the efforts of at least one of the Original Seven.

That should rock their world a bit. I will smile at this thought as I run through the IMDB website to see just who was in that western. It's going to keep me up nights trying to remember.