Saturday, March 20, 2010

Diggin' Up Bones

I've recently been digging as much as I can into my genealogy. I've no idea what made me do this. I've done some good work and got further on some of the branches than we did before. I think tomorrow I'll go find some graves in my hometown, in the hopes for a new lead or two.

I've been thinking a lot though, about what I'll be leaving behind for people to find when I die. It will be so much different for future generations to research family history, so much easier.

Thinking about the idea that someone down the line from me might want to know something about my life has made me realize that it's going to be important to leave more than just data and statistics behind.

What kinds of stories do you want future generations to hear about you?

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Won't You Join Me for Dinner?

I read something interesting last night and it got me thinking. Think along with me, please.

Let's pretend you're coming to my house for dinner. Wouldn't that be nice? But there's a stipulation. We must also pretend that we both eat the way I would eat if I were alone and binging. How would this go? Let's open the refrigerator door and just stare in at the contents on the shelves. Should I open a couple of tupperware containers with leftovers in them, sniff them really hard, then pick a couple of pieces of food out of them with my fingers before I pass them to you? Maybe we could each eat a couple of scoops of ice cream right out of the carton? There are some stale crackers in the cupboard we could dip into a jar of salsa. And there's a frozen cake in the freezer we could stab at with a butter knife until a chunk falls off. What do you think? Is this how I eat when I'm all alone? Shouldn't we just be civilized about it and pull a chair right up to the refrigerator?

What does it look like when you eat alone? Would you let me come over to eat with you?