finally, i have some time to sit at djoke´s computer and just focus for a while. i have paid my bills online, reconciled both my bank accounts, read and replied to all emails, and checked all the blogs that i follow. now, i can just sit and ``write in my diary,`` so to speak .... blogging.
work on the book has gone very, very well. when i got here, i had really only completed research on one of the family´s six branches. my great grandparents had six children. my own grandfather´s branch was truly the focus of the book, but i wanted to include as much as i could learn from the other five branches. it just felt right to do that, to set the stage and also, to help our progeny connect to their ancestors as closely as possible. after all, my grandfather was just one man, no matter how large his family became later. his personal story is just as much about his family of origin as anything else. i wanted to understand not only HIM, but WHO HE WAS, and the only way to accomplish that was to dig deeper.
the more i have learned about the other branches, the more amazed i have been to see evidence of the threads that connect us all ....
genetics, evident in facial features and inherited tendencies .....
the ways that sociological and spiritual influences have shaped and formed my ancestors shed light on the way they have, indirectly, shaped and formed ME. in turn, i raised my children on the basis of my understanding. my children will raise their children with all of these influences bearing weight.
i REALLY should have been an anthropologist.
since arriving in friesland, i have been able to get stories from three other branches. two branches have yielded the most detail and insight. the third has been marginally productive. i may be able to spend some more time with that one lady before i leave and pull more out of her, but she seems to think that she has nothing to tell, and i can´t do much about her mindset. nevertheless, she has been gracious and helpful. at this point, with many of the people passed on and many of the others unable to speak english, i consider this trip to have been very, very successful. djoke and tjalling have bent over backwards to help me. i can´t adequately thank them for this, but they will be included in my acknowledgement section with high honours.
i am getting a lot of reaction from my aged relatives about my habit of travelling alone. everyone is amazed and totally impressed. i keep explaining that this is my only option. i would dearly love a travelling companion, but i just don´t have one. so, i have gradually learned how to manage on my own in foreign places and difficult situations.
there are always difficult situations and challenges to meet. i learned that when i´m faced with one of those challenges, the first thing to do is ..... NOT PANIC. then, just approach it logically, telling myself that the worst case scenario is that i will end up spending a night in a hotel or hostel ...or maybe even sleeping on a station bench for a night ..... in a place i hadn´t planned on stopping, but that sooner or later, i will find someone willing to lend aid to a traveller and help me sort out the confusion. so far, i have never actually gotten stranded in europe. i only got stranded once, and that was in washington, d.c. that turned out to be one of the best examples of serendipity in my life, so now i always have an expectant attitude about wrinkles in my plans.
i have also learned that travelling alone opens up much greater opportunites, on many levels.
in the first place, a woman alone ... especially one with silver hair like mine .... seems to inspire others to reach out in friendship, to ask if i need assistance. this gorgeous silver i love so much has more benefits than its beauty!
also, i notice that when i am alone, i am never engaged in conversation with a companion, and therefore more approachable by people who like to chat. i have had many, long, delightful conversations with strangers that i never had when i was travelling with my two sons. i learn about the local people and places this way, and it has been a wonderful blessing.
travelling alone also makes it easier to snag that ``one last bed`` in the hostel or that ``one last seat`` on a train.
one time, i was stymied when the train i NEEDED to take was full. i was sitting on a bench, with my forehead in my hands, staring glumly at the schedule and wondering what to do next. a gentleman approached me and asked if i had a problem. with our limited knowledge of each others´languages, we communicated. he told me to walk to the ticket counter with him. when we got there, he explained to the ticket agent that he wanted to surrender his ticket on the next train and take the later one, so that i would have a seat on the next train and get to my destination on time. he said that he had no appointment to keep, and nobody waiting for him, and it was really no imposition.
sometimes, there really IS only one bed left, or one seat. with a companion, i would not be able to take advantage of those single openings. it is much easier to squeeze in one more, single person who doesn´t really care about the accomodations ... just a spot on the floor, just a seat in third class, anything .... than to accomodate a couple, or a larger party.
more about the book .....
when i get home again, i will finish the ``FINAL FIRST draft`` of the book. research will be finished, and everything chronologically recorded. i will insert all the photos i am gathering now, and then set the project aside for a while. i want to let it settle in my mind and heart, ``let it gel,`` so to speak. then, when my spirit prompts me, i will go back to it again. at that time, i will polish it. it will probably take a good chunk of time to rework the structure and language in order to make the story flow more like a novel. that is my goal .... to make it read more like an exciting tale, rather than just a chronological recording, without sacrificing any of the authenticity.
that´s it for today. ``yáll come back, now!``
work on the book has gone very, very well. when i got here, i had really only completed research on one of the family´s six branches. my great grandparents had six children. my own grandfather´s branch was truly the focus of the book, but i wanted to include as much as i could learn from the other five branches. it just felt right to do that, to set the stage and also, to help our progeny connect to their ancestors as closely as possible. after all, my grandfather was just one man, no matter how large his family became later. his personal story is just as much about his family of origin as anything else. i wanted to understand not only HIM, but WHO HE WAS, and the only way to accomplish that was to dig deeper.
the more i have learned about the other branches, the more amazed i have been to see evidence of the threads that connect us all ....
genetics, evident in facial features and inherited tendencies .....
the ways that sociological and spiritual influences have shaped and formed my ancestors shed light on the way they have, indirectly, shaped and formed ME. in turn, i raised my children on the basis of my understanding. my children will raise their children with all of these influences bearing weight.
i REALLY should have been an anthropologist.
since arriving in friesland, i have been able to get stories from three other branches. two branches have yielded the most detail and insight. the third has been marginally productive. i may be able to spend some more time with that one lady before i leave and pull more out of her, but she seems to think that she has nothing to tell, and i can´t do much about her mindset. nevertheless, she has been gracious and helpful. at this point, with many of the people passed on and many of the others unable to speak english, i consider this trip to have been very, very successful. djoke and tjalling have bent over backwards to help me. i can´t adequately thank them for this, but they will be included in my acknowledgement section with high honours.
i am getting a lot of reaction from my aged relatives about my habit of travelling alone. everyone is amazed and totally impressed. i keep explaining that this is my only option. i would dearly love a travelling companion, but i just don´t have one. so, i have gradually learned how to manage on my own in foreign places and difficult situations.
there are always difficult situations and challenges to meet. i learned that when i´m faced with one of those challenges, the first thing to do is ..... NOT PANIC. then, just approach it logically, telling myself that the worst case scenario is that i will end up spending a night in a hotel or hostel ...or maybe even sleeping on a station bench for a night ..... in a place i hadn´t planned on stopping, but that sooner or later, i will find someone willing to lend aid to a traveller and help me sort out the confusion. so far, i have never actually gotten stranded in europe. i only got stranded once, and that was in washington, d.c. that turned out to be one of the best examples of serendipity in my life, so now i always have an expectant attitude about wrinkles in my plans.
i have also learned that travelling alone opens up much greater opportunites, on many levels.
in the first place, a woman alone ... especially one with silver hair like mine .... seems to inspire others to reach out in friendship, to ask if i need assistance. this gorgeous silver i love so much has more benefits than its beauty!
also, i notice that when i am alone, i am never engaged in conversation with a companion, and therefore more approachable by people who like to chat. i have had many, long, delightful conversations with strangers that i never had when i was travelling with my two sons. i learn about the local people and places this way, and it has been a wonderful blessing.
travelling alone also makes it easier to snag that ``one last bed`` in the hostel or that ``one last seat`` on a train.
one time, i was stymied when the train i NEEDED to take was full. i was sitting on a bench, with my forehead in my hands, staring glumly at the schedule and wondering what to do next. a gentleman approached me and asked if i had a problem. with our limited knowledge of each others´languages, we communicated. he told me to walk to the ticket counter with him. when we got there, he explained to the ticket agent that he wanted to surrender his ticket on the next train and take the later one, so that i would have a seat on the next train and get to my destination on time. he said that he had no appointment to keep, and nobody waiting for him, and it was really no imposition.
sometimes, there really IS only one bed left, or one seat. with a companion, i would not be able to take advantage of those single openings. it is much easier to squeeze in one more, single person who doesn´t really care about the accomodations ... just a spot on the floor, just a seat in third class, anything .... than to accomodate a couple, or a larger party.
more about the book .....
when i get home again, i will finish the ``FINAL FIRST draft`` of the book. research will be finished, and everything chronologically recorded. i will insert all the photos i am gathering now, and then set the project aside for a while. i want to let it settle in my mind and heart, ``let it gel,`` so to speak. then, when my spirit prompts me, i will go back to it again. at that time, i will polish it. it will probably take a good chunk of time to rework the structure and language in order to make the story flow more like a novel. that is my goal .... to make it read more like an exciting tale, rather than just a chronological recording, without sacrificing any of the authenticity.
that´s it for today. ``yáll come back, now!``
posted by Me | 1:49 AM
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