My siblings, part I (of III)
Jul. 4th, 2003 02:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jawnbcI give you Kathleen Marie Jacqueline Egan Slattery. Kathi to many,
Kathleen is the oldest of the 4 kids (I'm the youngest, and there's only 3.75 years between us). Like many first children, she grew up having to figure much of "it" out on her own. She has a poise that reflects this sort of self-possession--and she's the only kid who's managed to go toe-to-toe to Da and come out on top. Unscathed. In other words, she's got moxy!
She's also got 7 kids: Jenn, Jacquie, Jessie, Marty, Katie, Richie and Grace. Ages 20 - 4. Not because she's devoutly Catholic (she's not longer observant after 11/09/01): she always wanted a big family. And she's certainly given Ma & Da enough grandkids to take the pressure of me!
Kathleen is first and foremost a communicator, and has used those skills to make her community a better place. A polluting factory near her kids' elementary school? Kath got the local government to shut it down. School board budget fails to pass in recent election? Kath mobilizes a yes campaign and gets the $$ reinstated. Xenophobes want to shut down bilingual education? Kath makes a speech at the school board and they vote to keep the program in place. She's been honoured by the NY State Parent/Teacher Association and by the League of Women Voters in NY.
How does she do it? She's clever, forthright, and makes her case based on reason and passion. Plus she's one of those people who drips charisma: you like her and want her to like you. Plus a fair sized chunk of moral certitude helps--something we all got from Ma.
But she's no saint. As a teen she was wild--climbing over my bed in the Summer House, scaling an 6m/20ft fence to go out with her mates until sun up. She nearly didn't graduate high school due to cutting over 100 phys ed classes in her year 12--Ma made sure she made 'em all up and graduated. She dropped out of uni and ran off to Ireland to be with the boyfriend of her grad summer holidays.
A few years ago Jenn took a job at a summer camp and it turned out to be bad. Kath and Marty (her husband) drove 4 hours on a Friday night to pick her up--but she was nowhere to be found. The woman Jenn worked for was a cow and insinuated that Jenn was either drunk or shtupping some boy somewhere. Kathleen warned twice to watch her mouth...after crack #3, Kathleen gave her a right hook across the chin--down! The woman got up and complained to the camp manager, who said "I'd belted you 20 minutes ago, I think Mrs. Slattery's shown amazing composure." And Jenn, well that's one sure way to tell your 15 year old Mummy loves you...
And she still likes to whoop it up with her mates (mostly our cousins) a couple of times a year. She works and plays hard.
And I love her to death. When I was a teen, transitioning from insecurity to self-loathing, she used her charms to have her friends' younger siblings to invite me to parties and such. The assumption was that any brother of Kathi's must be cool. When I was heavily into gymnastics, she bought us tickets to the America's Cup at Madison Square Garden, and took me into Manhattan to attend.
And when I nearly lost all, and was living in a halfway house in Vancouver, she was the only person in the family I knew I could count on.
Me and Kathleen in Vancouver, November 2002
Kathleen is the oldest of the 4 kids (I'm the youngest, and there's only 3.75 years between us). Like many first children, she grew up having to figure much of "it" out on her own. She has a poise that reflects this sort of self-possession--and she's the only kid who's managed to go toe-to-toe to Da and come out on top. Unscathed. In other words, she's got moxy!
She's also got 7 kids: Jenn, Jacquie, Jessie, Marty, Katie, Richie and Grace. Ages 20 - 4. Not because she's devoutly Catholic (she's not longer observant after 11/09/01): she always wanted a big family. And she's certainly given Ma & Da enough grandkids to take the pressure of me!
Kathleen is first and foremost a communicator, and has used those skills to make her community a better place. A polluting factory near her kids' elementary school? Kath got the local government to shut it down. School board budget fails to pass in recent election? Kath mobilizes a yes campaign and gets the $$ reinstated. Xenophobes want to shut down bilingual education? Kath makes a speech at the school board and they vote to keep the program in place. She's been honoured by the NY State Parent/Teacher Association and by the League of Women Voters in NY.
How does she do it? She's clever, forthright, and makes her case based on reason and passion. Plus she's one of those people who drips charisma: you like her and want her to like you. Plus a fair sized chunk of moral certitude helps--something we all got from Ma.
But she's no saint. As a teen she was wild--climbing over my bed in the Summer House, scaling an 6m/20ft fence to go out with her mates until sun up. She nearly didn't graduate high school due to cutting over 100 phys ed classes in her year 12--Ma made sure she made 'em all up and graduated. She dropped out of uni and ran off to Ireland to be with the boyfriend of her grad summer holidays.
A few years ago Jenn took a job at a summer camp and it turned out to be bad. Kath and Marty (her husband) drove 4 hours on a Friday night to pick her up--but she was nowhere to be found. The woman Jenn worked for was a cow and insinuated that Jenn was either drunk or shtupping some boy somewhere. Kathleen warned twice to watch her mouth...after crack #3, Kathleen gave her a right hook across the chin--down! The woman got up and complained to the camp manager, who said "I'd belted you 20 minutes ago, I think Mrs. Slattery's shown amazing composure." And Jenn, well that's one sure way to tell your 15 year old Mummy loves you...
And she still likes to whoop it up with her mates (mostly our cousins) a couple of times a year. She works and plays hard.
And I love her to death. When I was a teen, transitioning from insecurity to self-loathing, she used her charms to have her friends' younger siblings to invite me to parties and such. The assumption was that any brother of Kathi's must be cool. When I was heavily into gymnastics, she bought us tickets to the America's Cup at Madison Square Garden, and took me into Manhattan to attend.
And when I nearly lost all, and was living in a halfway house in Vancouver, she was the only person in the family I knew I could count on.
Me and Kathleen in Vancouver, November 2002
