I once read that “Family is like branches on a tree; we all grow in different directions, yet our roots remain as one.” And I discovered this for myself at the Francois Family Reunion in July 2019. This was my first time being a part of a family reunion and I felt honored to be invited to part of this gathering of family and friends.
The Francois family who hails from the village of Salem in Montserrat gathered in Boston, MA, USA in July 2019. Most of the family members now reside in USA and travelling, though a task these days was well worth the effort as members came from North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia, Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, England, Antigua and myself and a few others who came from Montserrat to join the members of the Boston hosts.
Upon the first night, there was a meet and greet and it was such a joy to see family and friends hugging, the exchange of warm embraces, the firm hand-shakes and the exchange of kisses. Introductions were few as I remembered some from Montserrat and the new ones whom I did not know made it easy for me to remember who they were as they welcomed me warmly as part of the family and if I had trouble remembering their names, they quickly reminded me. As per usual where Montserratians gather at an event, it was opened with a word of prayer and this was done by one of the elders of the Francois family – Bishop Alfred Francois affectionately known as Sam who also welcomed everyone before turning the floor over to the caterers who did a magnificent job in preparing the goodies and treats and mouth-watering national dish – the goat water which sure bang well and calling for seconds was the cry from everyone. One of my main highlights of the evening was seeing my primary school and high school friend – Carl Bass. Carl was always such a character then as he is now and though many years have passed since we had not seen each other, there was no change except of course we both got older as we reminisced our school years giggling and laughing at our school jokes and pranks the pranks we played.
The whole evening went perfectly well and there was a look of satisfaction on everyone’s faces. as it drew to a close as the next day would be the family picnic.
The next day was the big picnic in Franklin Park where the heat was surreal, temperatures zoomed to the 90s and perhaps more but thankfully the chosen venue was shaded and the warm breeze the flowed continuously was welcoming. Again, we were treated to sumptuously meals and greeted more family and friends. There was lots of fun and frolic and as we played games amongst ourselves.
The fun and laughter was heard amongst all as final game was tug-of-war battle – women against men. It was clearly seen that the men were outnumbered 3 – 1, though the men being macho would not back down. It was brawn against beauty as the challenge began. Unfortunately for the men, they lost miserably and the women victoriously gave whoops of delight as they shouted with delight in their triumph. Many of the onlookers kept laughing as they cheered on.
The final day as the reunion drew to a close – a delightful and inspiring church service. Great gospel music and a sermon that kept everyone on their toes. More greeting of other family and friends. After service a period of rest before the grand finale – the banquet!! That was an evening of elegance and lots of food, raffles, performances for by family members and dancing the evening away with a wide variety of gospel, Caribbean music and a mixture of American music. The evening closed as all parted saying their good-byes and their looking forward to the next reunion in 2 years.
The Francois family reunion, though my first was quite an event that I will always remember and God sparing my life. I must give my heartfelt thanks to Milton, Caleb and Victorine, Vera and Alicine who were the Boston hosts for putting this well-planned package together, also mention must be made to Lovina who invited me along and Natalie who assisted me with domestic and international travel arrangements. With great anticipation and enthusiasm, I look forward to going to the next event.
God bless you, the Francois family and thank you for making me part of your family. I felt at home.
(Written by Ron Barzey)
