Taking off from Virginia Transue’s message on 10/12, about her having unearthed this photograph from about 50 years ago:
(#1) From left to right: Jacques Transue (my husband-equivalent); his mother Monique Serpette Transue; and VT’s husband, J’s older brother Bill (William R.R. Transue, to distinguish him from his father Bill, William R. Transue)
VT wrote:
Maine, but which summer??? No date on the back. Mid-seventies, certainly —- those good-looking fellas!
(Oh yes, good-looking, two hot guys, but in two different ways in the photo — Jacques looking open but intense, Bill looking amiable.) By “Maine”, VT refers to Machiasport ME, way way Down East, where the family long has had a summer compound, at which they sail, play tennis on their tennis court, bring friends, and enjoy each other’s company. That’s the Maine woods in the background in #1; the three Transues in the photo are facing Machias Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, and Canada.
As it happens, 10/12 was also VT’s birthday, and that fact took the family’s e-mail messages afield in a different direction, about, of all things, planetary mnemonics; blame Virginia and Bill’s son Joe for that. (VT and I are the only survivors from our generation or older, and we are almost the same age; right now, we are both 83.) In postings to come, I’ll use that birthday to introduce more about my in-law family, then later get into the planetary mnemonics. Now a bit more of the background.
10/11 and 10/12. From my 10/23/22 posting “My sister-in-law-s birthday”
Marriage with deceased wife’s sister is trivial, whatever vexations it might have presented to British light-opera law. I’m here to talk about birthday celebrations for deceased husband-equivalent’s deceased brother’s wife: Virginia Bobbitt Transue; of Auburn AL for most of the year, Machiasport ME during the summer; nurturer of chamber music in Auburn and of a family spread around the country; energetic, enthusiastic, and charming friend of nearly five decades now; and a kid, a whole month younger than me (my birthday is 9/6), so that there’s a month in the fall when I am nominally a year older than she is (the scheme of reckoning ages in our culture has its goofy corners), but that this is righted on 10/12 — the day after NCOD, National Coming Out Day (which is a big thing in my world) — and she and I always take note of the event. 1940 rules!
As I wrote to VT last month:
Tuesday, when I was completely out of it, was National Coming Out Day (always 10/11) which Jacques very carefully chose as our wedding-equivalent anniversary date, with some very sweet and clever reasoning, many years ago. When I’m up to posting again, I’ll incorporate this photo [#1 above] into a recognition of our anniversary.
So: way late, and way inadequate, but here it is: November 11th was an inspired choice, out of the way of other possible dates that would have competed with the Christmas season or with Elizabeth Daingerfield Zwicky’s birthday, on an occasion that would convey our standing together to the world.
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