| So, there you are, curled up on the sofa, leisurely | | | | people, the subtle inclinations that become our |
| flipping through the pages of this magazine, cup of | | | | personalities may be bred into us more than we |
| chamomile tea by your side. The most exciting | | | | ever acknowledge. It's an interesting notion. In my |
| thing to happen to you this week was when the | | | | own search, I've found I come from a group of |
| bug-man clued you in on the new species of | | | | free-thinkers, who sometimes took great chances |
| Mediterranean Engraver Beetle that's been striking | | | | to stand for something worthwhile. It makes me |
| fear in the hearts of your neighbors. Well, fear | | | | feel special to know that blood runs through my |
| not, my mundane little friend, things are about to | | | | veins. My modern life may not give me everyday |
| get a whole lot more interesting! | | | | chances to fight in a revolution or rally for major |
| What if I told you that you come from a long line | | | | societal change, but perhaps my desire for peace |
| of rebels? What if you found out one of your | | | | and harmony comes from a place far bigger than |
| ancestors had escaped a death sentence for a | | | | I'd previously imagined. |
| revolution scheme gone wrong, or another had | | | | It puts your own problems in perspective. |
| been an indentured servant until the age of | | | | To quote the theme song from "Cheers", "Making |
| sixteen? Interesting stuff, huh? These are just a | | | | your way in the world today takes everything |
| few of the surprising facts I found when | | | | you've got." And yes, that's true. Life is a |
| researching my own family history. | | | | struggle, but in reality it always has been. Today |
| Somehow these amazing stories had fallen away | | | | we're worried about keeping up with the Jones'; in |
| with the sands of time. (How does that happen?!) | | | | the old days we were standing out on our porch |
| On the bright side, rediscovering them is an | | | | with a shotgun telling the Jones' "to get off my |
| adventure in the making. These stories are the | | | | land". Today we're resigned to emptying our |
| equivalent of buried treasure and you are one of | | | | wallets every time we fill up our gas tanks; back |
| the only people that have the map. There are | | | | then, we just prayed ol' Rosie was still tied to the |
| dozens and dozens of exciting scenarios, directly | | | | hitching post when we got back. |
| attached to you, and all you have to do is a little | | | | Struggle and hardship was, is, and always will be, a |
| detective work. So are you ready to put on your | | | | part of life. Throughout time people have lived |
| best Magnum PI floral shirt and start digging? It's | | | | through wars, faced financial challenges and lost |
| easy and it's fun! Here are some "jewels" you're | | | | loved ones to disease. These were real people |
| guaranteed to find once you begin your search: | | | | with real pain, and yet they pushed on and lived |
| You become a hero to your family. | | | | their lives the best they could, and we can too! |
| It's a wonderful feeling to return this lost | | | | Suddenly our problems don't seem so |
| information to its rightful heirs. Let's face it, | | | | overwhelming or important anymore. Life's not |
| everyone is bit self-involved. The best things in life | | | | always fair, but when we know we're not alone in |
| always pertain directly to us, so when you tell | | | | our experience it's easier to tap into the inner |
| your cousins, aunts and uncles the exciting stories | | | | strength that has enabled our people to survive |
| that you've discovered about your common | | | | throughout time. |
| ancestors, they'll be equally as intrigued as you | | | | You're preserving something for future |
| are. I mean, he was their great grandfather too! | | | | generations. |
| One of the biggest gifts genealogy has to offer is | | | | We all want to do something meaningful with our |
| giving you a renewed sense of connection with | | | | lives that will touch others. Preserving your family |
| those in your current family tree. With relatives | | | | history is sort of like writing the next great novel, |
| spread out across the country it can sometimes | | | | except you don't have to be a creative genius to |
| be hard to find common ground, but with your | | | | do it. Truth really is stranger than fiction, and all |
| new found discoveries, voila, you're all suddenly | | | | you have to do to give these old stories new life |
| thrust back in the same boat and paddling for a | | | | is bring them into the present. If you do your job |
| common shoreline. | | | | well, the admirers of your work will naturally carry |
| You realize you're part of something bigger. | | | | them into the future. Upcoming generations will |
| I remember practically standing on my head to | | | | each be given the gift of their own story to tell. |
| get my 3-month-old son to smile at me from his | | | | It makes you a more interesting person. |
| baby carrier. I made faces, spoke in a high squeak | | | | Everyone likes a good story teller, a person who |
| and did every humiliating action I could think of, | | | | can captivate with a tale. These histories are |
| but he just stared back at me intensely with | | | | every bit as interesting and fantastical as anything |
| those big, dark eyes...his father's eyes. My son | | | | you see on television or in the movies, and |
| wasn't old enough to have learned to be intense, | | | | they're uniquely your own. Who knows, people |
| yet there he was, all business with no time for | | | | may even see YOU differently because of them. |
| silly shenanigans, just like his father, all at the | | | | You may not be an African princess, but if your |
| tender age of 12-weeks. That intensity was | | | | ancestor was and people know about it, you may |
| obviously an inherited trait that was in his blood | | | | just carry a regal air all your own! So grab the |
| from day one, the same as height or hair color. | | | | popcorn! You've got a front row seat to the best |
| Therefore, it stands to reason that we must | | | | show in town, and as a VIP, you don't even have |
| share similar traits with our long-gone ancestors, | | | | to pay the price of admission! |
| as well. Even though we've never met these | | | | |