Ancestors: Get Acquainted!

Our ancestors want us to know more about them.  I am reminded especially at this time of year.  In the FamilySearch Blog, Diane Sagers posted this last Wednesday, May 20:

“...  Flowers were everywhere. We dressed in our new summer clothes, played with cousins we didn’t often see, had picnics and potluck dinners, and heard family stories over our ancestors’ headstones. In our community, Memorial Day was about remembering everyone who had died.”

Memorial Day is the perfect time to remember the importance of genealogy and family history research

By Barry Ewell , founder of MyGenShare.com

For the Deseret News,  published May 25, 2013.

“Summary: As this Memorial Day approaches, I feel an appreciation and love for my family — living and past. My thoughts turn to my family, my heritage, my linage[lineage] and the difference each person in the chain of time has made to who I am.”

“... the final Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it was established after the U.S. Civil War on May 5, 1868, to remember the men and women who died while serving in the armed forces. Decoration Day referred to the practice of laying or decorating flowers on graves to remember the fallen soldiers of the Civil War and as a sign of healing. The name Memorial Day was first used in 1888, and after World War I was extended to honor all Americans who died while in military service.”

“…  The steps of the journey toward learning more about our progenitors are guided by the questions we ask. With each answer comes another question. In time, a sense of connection and a bond that spans generations begins. Each individual ancestor contributed in some way to your very existence.”

–  deseretnews.com

My Dictionary of Humorous Quotations ©1949 by Evan Esar, quotes Baron Lytton, 1803-1873, English novelist and dramatist:  “A man who has ancestors is like a representative of the past.”

I suggest a visit to FamilySearch.org!  Sign In (free), click on Family Tree and Tree, click on an ancestor’s name, click MEMORIES in the person’s box that comes up, and see Photos, Documents, Stories; and now you can hear Audio! Then Sign Out (click on your name), share with your family, and add to the memories.

Our ancestors’ lives inspire us.  Let's get acquainted!

Three pics from FamilySearch.org, using Snipping Tool

About Me in 30 Seconds

"A 'Me in 30 Seconds' statement is a simple way to present to someone a balanced understanding of who you are."  – ldsjobs.org

(Start timer here for a fast read :)

Dogs don't like me.  My expert-dog-lover friend recently explained, "They bark at you because they sense that you are an alpha dog."  That is how I learned the reason, and found out what I am – so late in life.  Notwithstanding my boyhood love for "Lassie", I know I wasn't born to manage those wonderful companion animals.

Books love me.  They follow me home from the public library when I drop by to recycle, mesmerize me at B&N when I stop for hot chocolate, and beg my attention during thrift-store walkabouts.  I try to avoid yard sales.

Games are not my thing.  Our grandchildren invite me to play chess, Monopoly, and video games ... because they know I will lose.  

My fun-loving wife sometimes lets me win at Scrabble – so sweet!

On a serious note, I love my forever family, and find true joy in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I want us to follow Him, and be happy.  That's balanced.

Find the word DOG in three seconds.

Old English Update

First, my apology for not noticing this quarterly update two months ago – already a wee bit old; next available in a couple weeks, looks like.  (The truth is, I didn’t think to Google “what’s new …” until now.)

“What’s new – March 2015 update

Around 500 new words, phrases, and senses have entered the Oxford English Dictionary in this update.   … we have lexicographical facts and figures coming out of our ears … spanning a period of nearly 1,100 years in the history of English.  …  Many appear in entries that have been fully updated for the first time in over 90 years …  Additions this quarter include white stuff … North American name for snow … since at least 1891, XL, and lookalike.  …  See a full list of the new words, subentries, and senses added in this update.  The OED publishes four updates a year.”  – public.oed.com/whats-new

One of my favorites is “a sub-entry for large hadron collider ... a ring of tunnels which straddles the border between Switzerland and France” – a particle accelerator, “the longest machine ever built …”
– New words notes March 2015, by Jonathan Dent, Assistant Editor of the OED

Fascinating, I know.  Even more exciting, something I was not aware of :)

“The OED Appeals is a major new online initiative involving the public in tracing the history of English words.  Using a dedicated community space on the OED website, editors are soliciting help in unearthing new information about the history and usage of English …”  [Two contributions I like:]

"the Trade earlier than 1916

In nautical slang, the Submarine Service used to be referred to as ‘the Trade’.

The Royal Navy launched its first submarine in 1901, but undersea warfare was not well regarded in all [...]  Posted by OED_Editor on 5 November 2014 16.08"

"well in earlier than 1997

People have been described as being ‘well in’ (on good or close terms) with another person or group since 1781.  But a more recent development, at least in British and Irish colloquial use, is being tracked by the OED,  specifically [...]  Posted by OED_Editor on 2 October 2014 17.33"

– public.oed.com/appeals

Read any good English books lately?  Grandson displayed a few his cat likes, 6 April 2015.

30-acre Weed Patch

As a young boy, on some mornings I woke to Daddy’s inviting me to “the ranch” for a horseback ride.  It was typically when I was out of school for the summer, and very early in the day so he could still get to his downtown office on time.  He had purchased the barren property and the little old farm house, I presume for an investment, as it was conveniently located south of the Salt Lake airport, a promised land for commercial development. 

Our horse property was blessed with a canal running through it, providing me with my first experience building and floating a raft.  Like our backyard at home on Second Avenue, it had a supply of old lumber that was also begging to be used for a play house.  Rafting was great fun, but my grandiose architectural plan for a two-story house was a dream not realized beyond the first floor – without walls.  However, I worked hard at it for a time, and saved the plan for a future opportunity.  If someone had thought to take a photograph of it, I could post it, and laugh or cry.

My parents’ friend stored an antique fire engine there in the garage.  I also recall dating his daughter Janet in high school; we probably discussed her dad’s hobby of collecting old fire engines.  One January, my uncle had his Scouts collect their neighbors' Christmas trees, haul them to “the ranch”, and build a monstrous fire at night under the flight path; it probably alarmed some guys in the control tower nearby – not to mention pilots and passengers.

When I was ten years old, Dad sold the 30 acres for a profit, and acquired a real ranch – a bigger, productive property to the east of Salt Lake City.  He moved the horses there, and established a comfortable summer home in its old two-story farm house by the canal, where I ... (another series of stories.)  Since then I have lovingly referred to the first ranch as our “30-acre weed patch,” and treasured the memories of early-morning adventures riding the range with my father.

South of Salt Lake City International Airport, courtesy Google Maps