Sunday, October 24, 2010

My Cousin Linda

I’d love to introduce you to my cousin Linda. Linda (or fish as she is known to some of us) was born on Jan 10th, 1959. She is the oldest of 3 children born to Anna May (Honey) Granger Sosa Kodoma and Armando Sosa. She was born in New York City but has also lived in Florida, Utah and currently New Jersey ~ although I think it’s her hope to someday move to Las Vegas to be closer to her sister Cathy and brother Danny.
Linda’s mom and my mom were sisters. Both wonderful women were crazy, wonderful , beautiful and loved to sing. Both of them left us way too early.
Of all my cousins growing up, I think I was closest to Linda. She is the closest in age to me, being 2 years my junior, and my sister Joey and I spent several summers with Linda and her family. I have wonderful memories of those summers ~ swimming at Round Pond, road trips to see other family members ~ singing goofy (and sometimes sad) songs all the way up and back. Being scared silly by our Uncle Dick who told the best scary stories ever! I remember the water truck that used to come ~ not sure what purpose that served but I remember after they were done doing whatever they did, they’d spray us with the giant hose and let us play in the water. A rare treat back then. I remember the sounds of New York City and playing behind the apartment buildings and the woman that used to bring us penny candy on her way home from work.
Anyway… there are several things that stand out in my mind about Linda.
One is her love of animals. She is a huge advocate for all animals. Most people are “dog people” or “cat people.” She is both. If there is an animal in need, she is there.
Secondly is her love of God ~ okay, well, maybe that should have been first. I know it is for her. Linda is a devout Mormon and very active in her church. Much like her love of animals, if there is a person in need, she will also be there.
And the most obvious thing you will know about my cousin Linda is her admiration/adoration of the one and only Donny Osmond. As a young girl Linda was enamored of all things Donny . Me, I was a David Cassidy fan. Anyway… as she read about the Osmonds and their faith, she was so impressed that she and her sister started attending services in NY and eventually moved to Utah to attend Brigham Young University. She did end up meeting Donny and the rest of his family and has done work for them off and on. She remains friends with many of his family to this day.
Linda is not only one of the Granger Cousin Clan ~ she is the glue that holds us all together. She is the family historian, the keeper of the family photos and the instigator of many joint family emails helping us all to get reacquainted.
Recently I got to see Linda again after 28 years. She flew into Orlando and I got to pick her up from the airport so we could spend the night together catching up before I took her to see her Dad and his family for a  visit. She is just as wonderful a person as I remember and it was amazing getting to spend time with her .  We had a nice dinner at my new favorite restaurant on the Indian River, and then we drove over to Cocoa Pier and spent some time looking down at the water.  We stayed up really late talking about the past, our families and the future. We really need to do this again ~ very soon!

6 comments:

Sandra :) said...

Hey Linda! It's so nice to "meet" you through Barb's blog - I'm glad you two had an opportunity to get together again after so long - I bet you had a blast catching up!

Nancy said...

Barb, believe it or not I knew Linda when I lived in UT...she was one of the gang (Kristie, Debbie, etc) of the "Provo Press". How odd that I would come upon your blog (through google "Donny" alerts) and you'd be blogging about her!

Barb said...

Nice to meet you Nancy ~ and it is indeed a small world.

CritterLady said...

How fun to read this, and to see our picture together! I so loved spending time with you(and your family)again, and SO wished we'd had more time together! What a kick that another one of my Donny friends (Terri) got the same google alert as Nancy (Hi, Nancy! Come see me on Facebook! Linda Ann Sosa), and let me know you'd posted it. Small world! Nice to meet you too, Sandra! Love your flamingo.

I was also tickled to see BooBoo Bunny on your photos on the side of the page, Barbara. My cousin's little girl loved him. I cannot get over how talanted you are, and what similar taste we have in decorating, fabrics (tho I can't sew) and colors. I fell totally in love with your beautiful home, and most definitly want to come stay with you again, for a longer time!

Thanks so much for your hospitality, your chauffering me around, (I probably misspelled that), your shared memories and hugs! Can't wait to see you again!
Love ya bunches,
The Fish

Unknown said...

Hey Sis! Hey Barb! It was great that you two got to visit after all these years. I know that I really enjoyed visiting with you too a year ago Barb. It would be nice if we all lived close together.
I need to come to FL and visit and bring the girls. It would be great to get the kids together.
Linda, we should make a plan, hopefully sometime next year, and go visit. And for more than just one day.
Love you two! You are awesome Sis and you Barb, my cousin, are amazing! Love ya's both!

Miss Healthypants said...

Sounds like you're very lucky to have Linda in your life....she sounds like a wonderful person. :)