Relatives. None mystify me quite so much as the ones who lived before my time. I'm sure they peek out from behind the shadowy grave and snicker each time they see me put my head in my hands and ask, "Why me?" You'd have thought they would have left a paper trail for the future generations of kinfolk seekers. But, of course, that would have made it much too easy. Once in a great while they offer up a gem but much like the one armed bandits the main purpose seems to be to keep me ever hopeful and plodding along, stirring up the dust of a time gone by. Not to sound ungrateful. Nothing is more delightful than suddenly coming up with a picture of my great, great grandmother. Having died young and leaving two very small children to the care taking of other relatives, who would have thought I'd ever stare into her soft, loving face? Of course along with the elation comes the question, How, exactly, did she die? So, for every little tidbit comes a completely new set of wonderings. I am not one to except that there are no answers easily. I will dig a hole 10 feet deep and then dig some more if I feel the answer just has to be there. I have very often came to the end of a trail because, after not giving up, I find the records were burned. You have no clue how many times I've heard the same old tail. The old house was full of trunks and trunks of pictures and old family info but so and so set it on fire and burned it to the ground. End of trail. My best efforts sabotaged by someone who got there before me. Did they just not care? And yet after a while spent ranting over the carelessness of humans, I become determined once again that there must be something somewhere. And so I sit, I call, I visit, and I chase the ever elusive past which ties into my present as my son watches and wonders why it's important to know these people. Even after my best argument, we are all made up of these tiny bits of pieces from the past, he shakes his head...much the same as I do when the next lead turns to mush. I am thankful for my fellow researchers for they let me know that I am not alone and push me forward as I search out the newest clue. And so go my days....hot, dry, lazy summer days. You'll find me home and knee deep in the past which seems to become more mazelike every day. keep cool...hugs