Photo by the author, Deeann D. Mathews
“Well, we Jubilees-of-the-mountain have developed other skills along with what we are famous for – that same eye means that 98 percent of the time, when somebody is talking about 'shoot it!' we mean with a long lens camera.”
Gladys Jubilee Trent, mother to Sgt. Vincent Trent, was explaining to Mrs. Thalia Ludlow why their combined sets of grandchildren were all sitting down quiet with the exception of some “wow” noises – all of them were looking at copies of photos and then at the big printed posters for them to color based on them. All 12 little ones had taken over the Trent back porch with their markers and crayons and a big poster of a Blue Ridge landscape, and six-year-old Grayson Ludlow had gone home and brought over some Legos because “y'all do the flat version, and I'll build the 3D one.”
“These are some amazing photos you and different family members are getting – perspective,” Mrs. Ludlow was saying.
“Thank you kindly, Thalia,” Mrs. Jubilee Trent said. “I've brought my cameras, so you know your seven – er, eight now – are welcome to come on through and learn with my grandchildren.”
“Yeah, I'm definitely on this because I've been getting ready!” said No. 8, ten-year-old Glendella Ludlow whom the Ludlow grandparents had adopted since “Grandma Jubilee” had last been on a long visit. “All that time I used to spend cooped up at a window – I see all kinds of things in the world that are interesting and should be photographed!”
“Yeah, and I'm going to start painting some of these scenes,” eleven-year-old Velma Trent said, “so, yeah, this is gonna be real good.”
“Are there a lot of Jubilee-of-the-mountain photographers in this area?” Capt. R.E. Ludlow asked. “It seems to me I've seen some of these photos before in different local magazines.”
“Yes, there are a lot of us in photography and surveying in Lofton County,” Mrs. Jubilee Trent said, “making good, clean money with our well-trained eyesight.”
“You've taught a lot of Trent young people, too,” Sgt. Trent said as he came into the conversation, “so our numbers are growing in those fields too.”
“Yep – folks are getting pictures on websites, into national and international magazines, storybooks and anthologies, and learning they can use what God gave them to make a peaceful living,” Mrs. Jubilee Trent said. “It's important in an increasingly callous, disordered, violent world to know we ain't gotta depend on its means or play nice when the foolery come to call – but you gotta have both.”
“I feel like every one of these pictures has at least a thousand words in it, and, see, I'm definitely the one to tell the story because, see, I already got all the words ready, because, see, I'm the company bigmouth for the Ludlow Bubbly, but, see, I still got time for this because, see, I can't get to West Point to become the general of food yet, so, I got time and so this one here looks like there's gotta be some good things happening because, see, there's a lot of red in it and I know it's the Blue Ridge but red is the best color and it's OK to be purple too, see, because, and then –.”
“Yep,” Mrs. Jubilee Trent said as she handed five-year-old Lil' Robert Ludlow a red crayon and a big piece of paper. “Red is the best color, but it's OK to be purple too – that sounds like the beginning of a great story. Write it all, Robert – tell me about all the colors.”
“OK, I'mma need more crayons, but I got this!”
And Lil' Robert went right back to being quiet for another two hours, since he fell asleep, with a smile, by the time he got to writing about yellow.
“You know, Grandma Jubilee is on to something!” eight-year-old Edwina Ludlow said. “She just shut Rob up and he was happy about it!”
“I told you I didn't adopt y'all on to dumb grandparents,” eight-year-old Gracie Trent said. “Grandma Jubilee just gets it.”
