We Are Family

Oil on board
24x24 with gold floater frame. Wired and ready to hang.
 
Deli platters, potato salad, hot roast beef, and rolls.  The perfect menu for a Dowd party.
In the 70’s and 80’s parties were simple.  Appetizers were pretty much cheese and crackers, and maybe a bowl of mixed nuts.
The bar consisted of an assortment of sodas, giant bottles of Riunite wine, and maybe a bottle of whiskey or vodka. 
Simple and easy. 
Every gathering was energized with laughter.I was one of the elevens cousins – you could find us running around in socks, playing hide and seek in closets, under tables, or behind curtains.  Our sweaty faces would emerge to grab a roll off the table as we ran to find the kids for the next round.
The Dowd siblings are a tight group.  Seven in all.  Five girls and two boys.Raised in a row home in Philadelphia.  All with distinctly different personalities and careers.  Once the wine was flowing and the stories started buzzing, the music would start.
You knew the party was kicked into gear when you would hear one of the aunts say – Put on We Are Family (thank you Sisters Sledge)!!!!!
“We are FamilyI got all my sisters with meWe are familyGet up everybody and sing”
As kids we didn’t know how to dance.  But we sure could sing loud and jump up and down!!
Music reference:  We are Family, by Sisters Sledge