Julie July 4th

My sister Julie (taken late 1970s)

Today (July 4th) is the birthday of my sister Julie Francine. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE! She and her family live in Great Britain. Unfortunately, it has been too many years since I last saw her.

Julie was born in the morning in Cleveland in 1969. All of us were born in the same hospital, St. John's. It turned out to be a tumultous day (here is a detailed story about the weather and its aftermath that day).

For the holiday, we gathered at Uncle Dan and Aunt Dorothy's home in Bedford for a family get together. Lots of cousins, bottles of pop, grilled food, etc. Typically, we would have gone to see fireworks at Cleveland's Edgewater Beach but due to the new baby and threatening weather, we stayed in Bedford.

I remember that the weather seemed to deteriorate quickly and we all pile into our Volkswagon van and headed for home in Broadview Heights. The sky was a weird shade of gray-green and there was lots of crying and praying as we drove. When we arrived home, there was a mad rush out of the car and we all went down into the basement for safety against the potential tornado.

Later, we learned that the massive storm had hit Edgewater and several people were killed by falling tree limbs. My mom recalls that the hospital lost power during the storm. With that kind of day, it's difficult to forget a sibling nicknamed Julie July 4th!