Recently, I spent about an hour talking with sister Leslie about resolving an issue between a couple other parties. While I have had the chance to be the interlocutor occasionally, she is more likely to take on the role.
She’s always been more of a “people person” than I was/am. There is a certain narrative she’s shared that’s largely true. Folks would come over to visit our parents. I was usually hanging out in my bedroom, reading a book or playing with my baseball cards. Out of a sense of obligation, I’d come out to the living room and say hello, then returned to my sanctuary. These people didn’t come to see me, after all.
By contrast, Leslie would come out and stay for a while. I was aware enough of this – it was a small enough house – to be aware of this. Frankly, I found it a bit baffling. But it seemed to serve her, from her job as a hostess at Perkins Pancake to her brief career as a model to her time as a professional singer, which I suspect I’ve mentioned in the past.
In the past year or so, she has talked with cousins of ours, whom I do not know, one each on our mother’s and father’s sides . She took copious notes, which I should eventually add to the Ancestry tree.
Tunes
Sister Leslie has always needed to sing. As I was looking through my hometown newspapers, there was a hit for “Leslie Green will sing and play the guitar.” She received her guitar for her 12th birthday, and was remarkably proficient a month later.
Presently, she sings in one or more churches most Sundays, is a member of a couple of chorales, and sits in on a few gigs, occasionally with her daughter, Rebecca Jade. Twice recently, she performed as the headliner; I hope she has the opportunity to do this more often.
Happy birthday to Les and Trudy’s second-born.
