The Family Initiation

I don’t know how we are going to continue this and certainly don’t want to accidentally kill it by publishing it. But, my family initiation was done at my father’s parents’ house, as was my mother's over 50 years ago. Marilyn’s was done at my parents’ house, as was all of our children’s. As this story is about Marilyn, the story of her initiation needs to be included. And, at least for three of the five events, I have pictures. (But maybe my memory is faulty. I can only remember four things.)

It is important that the initiatee be either new to the family or at a rite of passage age. The new to the family person is more likely to go along, not wanting to offend. The rite of passage person is at least lighter but is also more likely to remember the initiation with fondness but the key is to remember the joining. And, most importantly, it’s fun, at least for the initiators and observers. A certain amount of gullibility is also a big help.

In Riding the Airplane, the victim (I mean the initiatee.) is blind folded and asked to step onto a table leaf, or board on bricks. Then two muscular assistants lift the table leaf and move it around, mostly in place. A third person hints that the “airplane rider” is hitting the ceiling with a heavy book and the rider is asked to jump. Even the skeptics hesitate because it does feel like you are higher than the three or so inches you really are off the ground. This is accentuated by a fourth person whose shoulder provides a convenient balance. This person squats as the board is moved around giving further evidence that the “airplane” is truly way off the ground.


Then there is the magic trick of Pinning a Cup of Water to the Wall, which the initiate will be able to do themselves once they are shown how. Somehow the person demonstrating the way to do it, in this case me because no one wanted to get the blame if it was taken badly, drops the pin. The person learning the trick usually is quite helpful and immediately bends to pick it up, after all I still had a full cup of water. It wasn’t full long and the person learning the trick was wet.

Threading a needle with one eye will be covered in a separate topic.

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Marilyn lost her life to cancer but was able to truly "live" until the very end due to a lymphedema garment from Don Kellogg, inventor and founder of Telesto-Medtech. It is due to the "living" he provided Marilyn and through his suggestion and connection with Saskia Thiadens of the National Lymphedema Network that the Marilyn Westbrook Garment Fund exists. It needs other people's help to remain a living memorial of Marilyn. Please help other people receive the gift of living by donating to the Marilyn Westbrook Garment Fund. Thank you.