Category: Family

Today we took the children to the Cleveland Botanical Gardens.  The CBG is now affiliated with Holden’s Arboretum, so we have free admission with our membership. I had not been there since the 1970’s, I think. The last time I remember going my mother drove me in a 1974 Gremlin.

It is smaller than I remember, but a very fine place to visit. In addition to the flora the name would lead you to expect, they also exhibit fauna in the form of birds, butterflies, spiders and lizards.  The birds, of course made me break out the camera. In the exhibit space that replicated the South American rain forest my lens was too foggy to focus. The Madagascar area was better,

As we were about to head back to the Dodge Caravan, Joyce and I decided to make a quick stop at the Cleveland Museum of Art. We had to walk past it to get to the car, it is a cultural treasure and admission is free. What’s not to like?

We only had time for a brief visit, so we made sure to see the religious artwork from Europe and the hall of armor. Four boys may not be interested in art. but actual armor and weapons from the 16th Century is cool.

As we were about to depart we came across a painting by John James Audubon of peregrine falcons preying in ducks. My boys know Audubon from the Birds app on my phone, so they were really impressed (especially James and John.) I was a little emotional being so close to a painting created by a man who means so much to birders and conservationist. The fact that I have a special affinity to falcons made it even more exciting.

 

We did not have time to see much of the museum, and soon were back in the van and headed home on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Rockefeller Park is a great green space in the city. I noticed a small white goose among the Canada Goose near one of the ponds near Wade Oval. I only caught a glimpse, but I knew it was something unusual. After we returned home I saw a posting on the Birding Ohio Facebook group that this was a Ross’s Goose. A lifer!! The ironic part was that I had entertained thoughts of birding at Lake Erie, but didn’t have time.

Sometimes you are put in the right place at the right time and you can’t even plan it.

 

 

We all think we are unique, don’t we? We are. Each of us has different experiences and perspectives. Even identical twins are not really identical. The younger goes through life looking at the older and the older goes through life looking at the younger.

It is kind of like the parallax effect.  I only have two eyes, but if I hold my index finger at arm’s length and close my left eye my perception of the world shifts from when I close my right eye.

It should be no surprise, then, that the accident of having the same first and last name is an interesting and a tenuous bond, but really is not much more. Two times in the recent weeks I’ve had people mention that they know a different Matt Keough in the Cleveland area.

My curiosity is piqued at this type of revelation. I’m interested in my family’s history. My father’s family was not particularly close and the fact that my grandfather died when my father was an infant didn’t help any Keough bonding. Plus, Keoughs always seem to find some reason to feud in every generation. I don’t look at this as being difficult, I look at it as having integrity and “sticking to your guns.” As Hank Jr. sang, it’s a family tradition.

So, this is an open offer. If you stumble upon this blog post because you were Googling “Matt Keough” or even “Keough” please feel free to comment and connect. Even if we can’t determine a direct connection in familial relationship we can be friends because there is something we share!

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UPDATE!

Totally not staged. Don’t you think the smirk of the ball player and your humble blog host are a bit similar? I promise you, this was not a conscious pose on my part.

 

 

 

 

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Update to the update. If you look at my public Facebook profile it has a handy list of  Other Matt Keoughs!