A King Henry EighthRelation

  
     It was Tuesday, two days before Thanksgiving. I had never felt so excited. Barbara told me the good news from her last doctor's check up. "Your heart is thirty percent stronger than before." Not only did Barbara wish to live, but she has now recalled songs lost from her mind, until now. .
    The real excitement began a month ago. Barbara confessed to me that "John Greene, the Surgeon. was the first one of our family to immigrate to our county." I looked at the internet about Greene and discovered a connection to Katherine Parr, the Sixth Wife of Henry the Eight. Not only that, but Barbara face was a match to Katherine Parr
  Well, as you may have surmised, all hell broke loose when I told her this news.  Her small frame leaped to the sky. In fact, I told everyone around  to bow before her highness.  Her Thanksgiving began on that day. Now all of us need a reason to live. and she found one. For me, it took my mind off of past loves and the fact no longer could I play two man volleyball. Like Barbara, i needed a energy bar and she provided it, and how!
   
    It was going on eleven and we are seated at the Oak's Cafe at the Encinitas Senior Center.  I sat down with Barbara and presented various copies of the microfilms from the Carlsbad Library.  I showed her a picture of her families Coat of Arms.
   "Hey Barbara, do you know why Katherine Parr was different than the other five wives of Henry the Eight?"   
   "Yes I know. She kept her head!"
  The dainty 84 year old had already finished playing the piano when I revealed the treasure trove of her families history. "Barbara, you won't believe this. But John Greene, the surgeon, helped Rodger Williams settle Rhode Island. Not only that, but this Baptist returned to England and received a land grant from the King."
   I told her how he had left all of his English land behind for  religious freedom. The Puritans did not accept his Baptist religion so he left Boston. His flock of worshipers thought he had died of exposure during the snowy winter but a group of Indians fed and gave him a part of their land. He returned later to London and returned with a deed to the property. Barbara then spoke about John Greene, the surgeon.
   "You know George, when I visited the very place where John had been buried, I couldn't get over how beautiful the church was and asked to see somebody who knew about the Green's. Somebody told me to go to a book shop down the way."
    "I sat and waited. When I told a worker I wished to see the owner. He told me he was too busy. I persisted and told them who had sent me. The book store owner was overwhelmed. He gave me a book about my relatives the Green's."
   "Why George we owned a good part of Northern England. Everyone wished to meet me. I couldn't get over how many of my ancestors are buried in this church."
 
   Barbara forgot the name of it. I told her to play the piano. Now that her heart is beating thirty percent stronger due to laughter, love and good food, there is no holding her back. She played a few songs and her playing is better than ever. I reminded her she had to partake in our delicious food now.
   "Tony, is there something you wish to say. Tony had come to America at  Mussolini's urging. He became an accountant after trying to be a doctor at U.C.L.A."
   "Merry Thanksgiving." Abe chimed in, "Ditto." I continued to speak to Barbara, a relation to Katherine Parr, the  Sixth Wife of Henry Eighth."
   I told her an ancestor had fought in the Revolutionary War against England. His name was Nathaniel Greene and was the only other American general besides George Washington. The Green's name was also formidable during the Civil War and many held offices in Rhode Island.
   With lunch now over, Ron packed the remains of her food into a small round carton and she remained. Ron made sure she left later for her lift. Sometimes they were late, but what she received from our lunches made it worth it.