A Call To Home - G Burton Murphy

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 A Call To Home 

G Burton Murphy 

-21 July 2025

For the first time since my Grandparents arrived in California during the time of The Great Migration one of their own has traveled back to Houston, Texas to find what they left behind.  

Meeting my maternal Grandfather’s youngest brother’s third son’s daughter, her Pop’s sister, Mister and son, and other kinfolk I didn’t have time to meet but heard about felt as though the family never parted. 

This call to home hit different. Gone was the opportunity to beat the heat on a misty Mulholland drive. The high humidity of Galveston’s subtropical climate can curl your hair tighter and yet the warmth, generous spirit and infectious smiles held by the folks I encountered made the high humidity bearable.

The decision to relocate, leave everything behind and possibly lose yourself in the process is a daunting task. Mustard seed faith may have provided my Grandparents with the wit and wisdom to leave home for parts unknown. 


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