B is for Bradshaw

My extended family on my dad's side is numerous and based in Mesa, but had not really gotten together except for funerals since my grandmother died in 1976. So some of the aunts and uncles put their heads together and decided to host a family reunion. As part of this reunion, they asked each family to have a shirt and make a family video. Since my dad is one of ten brothers and sisters who have descendants, this promised to be a big event with plenty of entertainment.

We decided on light blue polo shirts with the Bradshaw coat-of-arms screenprinted on the front. The video--well, who knows? I don't know who designed it, in retrospect, but we all participated in making it in October and November of 1982. It's called "B is for Bradshaw," and has become a family classic.

And what is on this video? The family, of course, from Dad & Mom down to the youngest grandchild, which may have been Karren. A flyswatter, functioning as my mother's magic wand, reflecting her propensity for swatting us with it when we were little. A portable toilet, which was a business of my father's at that time (B's Rent-a-John). Any number of strollers filled with babies. And a collection of playground equipment.

It was filmed in our backyard and at a nearby elementary school using stop-motion photography. And the sound track included the themes from "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly" and "The Pink Panther", which leads me to believe my brother Aaron was involved in the process.

Our film was a hit at the reunion, and a hit at our house for years afterwards. The hardest part now is telling which kids are which.