Well family, we made it through the summer of '22!  I hope everyone had a great time and enjoyed what has always been to me,  the best season of the year.

  and I think I can say for sure that a good time was had by all who attended this years Myers Family Reunion in Bridgeton New Jersey.  Because of the Covid pandemic, we had not gotten together since 2019!  And let's face it, it wasn't only that we did not have a reunion, we were also pretty isolated from each other during that time too.  

Thanks to our being able to connect with each other via Zoom (A big shout out to my nephew Jay James  who provided the place for us to meet every week!), we were able to stay in touch and even see each others faces!  The Zoom sessions brought a nice addition to our experience as a family too, helping us get to know each other better, connect with family members we hadn't seen in a while and even enabled us to meet new members of the Myers family  (All of them smart, funny and good looking too!) But we can talk about that in detail another time, maybe Jay will even chronicle our exploits with highlights from the many sessions he has recorded (ya'll know he records them right?), as they say "More on that later!". 

   Right now I expect you're wondering why I titled this  article "I Know What You Did Last Summer".  Well first let me ease your fears and say right off the bat that I did not hack into your Alexa, Siri, Ring Doorbell, Google Assistant or any other surveillance app you might have watching you already (You know they're watching you right?).  Nah, It just came to me when I thought about how fortunate I was to be able to see so much family up close and personal this summer.  And since I have a few pictures and stories to share, and we can use some content for the site relaunch,  As it is, when it comes to family, not all of the times we get together are happy occasions, but for me, whenever we are together I am happy! 

 

First off, I am going to admit that I am not starting this timeline strictly in the summer because one of my favorite Myers family memories actually occurred in March.  That is when I went out to visit Pearl Morris.  Pearl is actually my mom's first cousin but I grew up calling her Aunt Pearl.  I try to drop by from time to time and see her but on this occasion I got a special treat as her daughter Della came by to visit from Virginia.  I had not see Della in quite a long time so I made a point to get out there and reconnect.  So I spent the day hanging out with Aunt Pearl, Wayne, Mark, Della and her husband Ralph.

Needless to say, I had a fantastic time with all of them, Della was always one of my favorite cousins growing up and it was great to see and talk with her again.  I also got to know her husband Ralph a little more and connected with him talking about design and photography, which reminds me, If you are looking for a professional photographer, I highly recommend his services!  And of course it is always a great pleasure to spend time with Aunt Pearl, Mark and Wayne! 

  Next on the calendar, was actually a sad occasion that brought the family together as we mourned the passing of our beautiful cousin Renee Aponté.  I have to say that losing her was particularly sad for me because I felt like I was really just getting to know her.  Renee was so honest, and funny with a wonderful spirit too!  I am saddened right now just recalling how we lost her and humbled by her strength and grace as she fought to overcome her illness. 

Of course much of the family came out to offer prayers and pay our respects as you would expect for one so loved. We all met at the same church which also hosted the services for her recently departed husband Paul, then  met at her mom Ella ("Skeeter") Harris'  home for a repast where we all got together to honor and celebrate our love for Renee. 

 

 

Check Out Some Pics from That Day

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  Next up on the calendar was a trip to Pilgrim Baptist Church in Redbank NJ., where they awarded $5000 to 6 deserving high school grads through the Dorothy James Memorial Scholarship fund, which I am sure many of you know is named in honor of Dot James.  This was the second year that the scholarship fund has provided support to students looking to further their studies and all I can say is that this is a fantastic legacy that was established in Aunt Dot's name! I was honored and filled with pride to have attended the event!

 

Pics from The Dorothy James Scholarship Award Presentation

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Later in July of course, was The Myers Family Reunion! Once again the familly headed out to Bridgeton New Jersey to celebrate our ancestors and each other.  We also had a chance to welcome new members to the family, Brielle, Holly and James Pulley's wife Kelly!  As expected we had a fantastic time and fortunately we have a beautiful video of the event that sums up the day pretty well! 

 

 

 

A few days after the Reunion, I had a chance to spend some time with our cousin from Puerto Rico (by way of Brooklyn) Pat Brown.  Pat and I spent a beautiful Sunday together visiting her brother Raymond Refore out in Long Island.  After our visit with Raymond, Pat and I returned back where she was staying in Long Island where I met her good friend Lola.

 Next on the calender, was Labor Day and with that a trip to the Shinnecock Indian Reservation in Long Island New York to visit more family, Aunt Barbara (Uncle Louis James' wife), her daughters Geneva and Donna along with their children and grand children!  As some may know, Labor Day weekend is when the hold a Powwow on the reservation and tribes from around the country gather together to dance, share traditions, sell stuff and basically have a big festival/party!  As always the Powwow and visiting family there was awesome but is was even more so because cousins Les Samuels, Eric Myers, Ron Pulley, my nephew Dillon Desane and our cousin Zarinah Williams came up to the Rez too!  For me it was like another family reunion and I absolutely recommend attending if you can (I plan to be there next year too!)

Check Out Pics from the Shinnecock Powwow!

After Labor Day, my sister Lynette came up from San Antonio Texas to spend most of the month with us.  Needless to say we had a great time. Lynette also made time to visit family and friends in the NY/NJ area.

 

  Later in September, I was surprised by a call from my cousin John Refore who resides in Louisville Kentucky, telling me that his daughter Kimbrea was coming to New York for a weekend to be in a fashion show.  Although it was short notice, Lynette Karen and I were able to catch up with her that Friday night for dinner and a little sightseeing in Manhattan.  Unfortunately we were not able to make it to the fashion show BUT cousin Dacei Refore and her daughter Keara were able to come out for the show!  Kimbrea is one to watch y'all! 

Here are some pics from Kimbrea's visit to NY

 

Last but not least for my forays into family togetherness, Late September Lynette, Cousin Cookie and her grandson K'yair & I took a ride out to Delaware to celebrate our cousin Holly's first birthday! Holly is my cousin Shaina's youngest daughter and she is one of the cutest little kids you will ever see!   The party was thrown by Holly's grandparents and needless to say we had a great time! Oh and Shaina's other kids Delilah, Layla and her son Mekhi where in da house too!  take a look at some pics here!

 Got A few Pics from Holly's Party Here

   So to wrap it all up, I guess you could say that I had a pretty good summer, one filled with love and family!  As many of you know, I like to stay in touch with family, especially since we are related to awesome bunch of people! And it's a fact that staying in touch with family is important because it helps to build and maintain strong relationships.  It also provides a sense of belonging and support especially important during difficult times (...remember our weekly Zoom calls? ).  I hope that this website will help keep our connections strong, and help us all celebrate the awesomeness that is our family!