Holidays and New Year celebrations are when messages about what family should and shouldn't make me want to gag. They generalize everyone into one big homogenous lump. That's when I step back and take stock of the people I know. It does my heart good to see that we're individuals -- and that includes our… Continue reading Who is Family? by K E Garland: Reblog→
Truman Capote was a genius writer and spoken word performer. He's best known for "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Yes, the movie version that starred the lovely Audrey Hepburn but that horribly mangled Capote's marvelous novella. Here Capote reads aloud his heartbreakingly sweet and profound autobiographical "A Christmas Memory"... https://youtu.be/RUKoXXhvnyg Here, along with his "Among the Paths to… Continue reading Christmas and More ala Truman Capote by da-AL→
Who will your search turn up? Photo thanks to Ryan McGuire of Gratisography.com
Writers and readers alike, for times we’d like to look into our histories, author Margaret Lossi offers tips for how to get started. My two novels are works-in-progresses! Lossi says that when it comes to looking up one’s family background, be prepared for surprises…
Warning: family history can lead to emotional discoveries.
It may seem counter-intuitive, but you begin at the end! That is, you begin with you.
Check your birth certificate, verify your parents. It may seem like a given, but just sometimes people find they are adopted, or their mum is really their grandma. It pays to check.
Check your parents birth certificates, to verify your grandparents. Then work your way back through the generations, verifying birth certificates.
These first steps build the strong foundation of your family tree, so worth doing well.
It is not a case of how far back you can go, but the quality of your data
You may wish to answer a family question. I knew my parents were second cousins, so wanted to find out about this link. Set yourself a goal to work towards. Whatever your motivation, make sure you verify each…
Does the threat of a book being banned ensure that it's among the finest books written? Check out the fantastic examples cited by the smart folks in this 29-second video (and pat yourself on the back if you smile when "To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee is discussed -- *see end of this post… Continue reading Let’s Make Every Week Banned Books Week! by da-AL→
