Cousins

Whenever I photograph cousins, they're usually small children. I recently had the opportunity to work with adult cousins, the added benefit being that they have great stories to tell! Meet Don May and his cousin, Larry Weeks. They are the last of the first cousins on the May side of their family.

Don is 70 years old and Larry, 69.  Larry's mother and Don's father were brother and sister.They grew up in Winfield, Alabama, and have been buddies since fourth grade.  During the hot, humid Alabama summers, they played together as boys six days out of the week.  Both fondly remember having pillow fights, going fishing, shooting bows, and flying kites.

Don even remembered shooting air rifles, until he was shot in the eye when he eleven years old, putting a ban on guns for awhile...

You can imagine these two riding stick horses throughout the house, getting into all kinds of mischief.  They enjoyed telling me how they "stole" watermelon as teenagers, and were even shot at one time. Don had a watermelon in his hands, which he threw up in the air, jumping in the car and cranking it up. In the meantime, his friends pulled Larry in through the open window.  They peeled out of the field with Larry's feet sticking out of the window, and that was the last time they "borrowed" watermelons. The boys went on to graduate from Winfield High School, Don in 1961 and Larry in 1962. More school followed; Larry was, among other things, a Baptist preacher for eighteen years. Don taught and coached at Winfield High School. If he had a computer, he'd see that his students still talk about him on Facebook. These days, they're both retired. Larry says the good thing about that is "you do about what you want to, as fast as you want to."

When I told Don I wanted to take some photographs, he got in touch with Larry (who lives just minutes away). Both were waiting for me when I arrived...I now have memories that bring a smile to my face whenever I remember this photo shoot.Thanks for coordinating, Uncle Don. You're the best!