T
by Ashley Weeks Cart
Today the world lost a wonderful storyteller and historian. Our family lost a beloved (great) grandfather.
I am grateful to have spent time with T this weekend, as he sat next to his wife of 50 years in the home his own father built, and to have had a chance to say “I love you” and “Thank you.” James lived with his grandparents every summer for over a decade, and so T in many ways was like another parent. T taught James how to shoot one hell of a round of trap, to fly fish, to play a mean game of Skittles and an even fiercer game of Backgammon, and to love the outdoors in a way that has shaped our very lifestyle in Vermont.
My first time meeting T over a dozen years ago, he mixed me my first true Dark n’Stormy during a cocktail hour in his Bermuda home, and yikes, I couldn’t keep up with his 1-to-1 ratio of ginger beer to Goslings rum. I still can’t. He and his wife welcomed me into their family so unconditionally and warmly, and were like second grandparents to a woman who lost hers at a younger age. James is so much the man he is today because of his grandfather T. And I feel exceptionally fortunate to have known him and had him in our lives for as long as we did.
I can’t help but look at these images and reflect on how lucky my girls were to know their Great-Grandfather. These last two images were taken this 4th of July, the last time we saw T as we’ll remember him. We miss his ascots and storytelling and stiff Dark and Stormies and love of wildlife and history and family already.