Mad Macedonian

Poetry A Day Challenge 19: A 6 Word Poem

 

Happy Sunday, Houston, The Mad Houstonian, here.

Welcome to Day 19 of the Poetry A Day Challenge by Robert Lee Brewer, of the wonderful Poetic Asides Blog, at Writer's Digest.

 

As he explains in his post...

write a poem that uses the following six words:

• bump
• embrace
• fixture
• howl
• lonely
• resolve

Remember: These prompts are just springboards; you have the freedom to jump in any direction you want. In other words, it’s more important to write a new poem than to stick to the prompt."

(My Day 1 poem is here)

So...what did I do?

Poetry A Day Challenge 11: Where I'm From 2019

Welcome to Day 11 of the Poetry A Day Challenge by Robert Lee Brewer, of the wonderful Poetic Asides Blog, at Writer's Digest.

As he explains in his post...

"Write a dedication poem. This is a poem dedicated to a person, an animal, or an organization. Or hey, objects work too–like a poem to a rock or paper bag. Put the dedication in the title or in a line under the title (“for Mother” or “to the heart-shaped rock between the creek and the tulips”).

Remember: These prompts are just springboards; you have the freedom to jump in any direction you want."

(My Day 1 poem is here)

 

 

This post is dedicated to my ancestors and is an updated version of something first written when I began blogging, and later updated in 2008.

There is a poem and a poetic prompt of a very special kind, and some things I did not know about in 2008 have been added as well.

Family Bible, Personal Bible, Are They One & the Same in Your Family?

When asked, at a Heavenly Press Conference, by nosey, inquisitive, Journalists, The Lord God Almighty, caught off guard because even Gabriel , and St Paul, didn't expect THIS question, sighed deeply, and replied...

"The Mad Macedonian is MINE, I sayeth, but, Oh ME, what a Project!"

Then the Press Conference came to an abrupt end, and the last the Official Heavenly Press Corp. saw of the Big Guy was him heading down a hallway, bellowing..."Jesus! Jesus! We Need to Talk, NOW!"

But enough about me, this post is about Bibles. ;-D

Sometime in the 1950's my Maternal Grandmother, Iva Wells, bought a fancy King James "Old Masters" Bible, in a slip case, and filled with wonderful color illustrations by artistis master of centuries past, color maps, indexes, dictionary, and concordance.

Also a section reprinting all 46 of The Parables of Jesus.

It was published in 1954, and is quite beautiful.

 

Grandma kept the book until her death, and it was passed on to my Mother.

 

 

The various places in the book, fo family info, are all filled out, by my Mom, wih info about abour Grandparents, parents, siblings, and also my Dad, my sisters, and I.

OC Website has Some Cool Tips on Genealogy

"Your Life is a Treasure Chest...Share it", says Kathy DeSantis on her website, Memories into Memoirs.

She offers advice on how to share those old Family Stories, and more:

You can keep the legacies alive and write one for them. In fact, one of the best things you can do for your own family and future generations of your family is to "narrate" the history of family members.

What do I mean by "narrate?" Simple -- tell the story. Write the biography. You may have all the pieces of the puzzle you need already. Other parts may not be difficult to find. But a *story* is something people who haven't caught the "genealogy bug" are far more likely to read -- and remember -- than pages and pages of your research...

She proceeds to offer an 8 part outline, or formula, to follow.

She also offers tips on getting unwilling parents, or grandparents, to open up, as well as on why you might want to write your own obituary, and how to go about it.

Check out Memories into Memoirs.

 

Turning the Big 50: A Celebration in Pictures

Early in the morning of March 5, 1960, my Mother postponed breakfast...at my insistence...and she, and my Father, went to the Hospital where I made my Grand Entrance into the world at exactly 8:33am.

I officially weighed in at 7lbs 1 ounce, and 20 inches long.

NO, NO, NO! That's 20 in., head to toe, not, um, well, gee, get such thoughts out of your head...hee, hee! ;-D

30 minutes later I was ready for my close-up...and had my Official Mug Shot taken. ;-D

 By the time I was ready to go home the hospital gave my parents my first official document of record, a hospital Birth Certificate that, though not the Official Doc, according to the info on the back is still good for proving parentage, age, and identity, for such events as...

1. Entering School.

2. Beginning employment, & securing wroking papers.

3. Voting rights, and jury duty.

4. Proving citizenship.

5. Military service.

6. Obtaining passports for travel in foreign countries.

7. Life insurance, and annuities.

8. Social Security, and Old Age.

9. Proving right to inherit property.

As for my Official Birth Certificate...

It was filed by the County Recorder, one Ray E. Lee, on April Fool's Day, 1960. ;-D

I laughed my ass off when I first learned of this little detail.

Considering my peculiar sense of humor, and my poetic, and creative writing, talents...I find this very much appropriate. ;-D

As the months went by I settled into a regular routine...eating, drinking, burping, pissing, crapping, crying, sleeping...not neccessarily in that order, or at regularly scheduled times approved by Mom, and Dad. ;-D

By 5 months of age I was interested in something to drink considerably stronger, and less healthy for my delicate palate, than Mother's Milk, or Formula. ;-D

I was also fast developing into a Couch Potato, becoming fascinated by the programming found on the early Boob Tube Networks. ;-D

I was also deemed eligible for a driver's license.

At 6 months I was showing signs of becoming your typical male...sitting around, in the privacy of my home, in nothing but my underwear. ;-D

It was at this time, and no doubt because of the above behaviors, that my parents decided I needed a little religion in my life. ;-D

At 6 months I was officially baptised into the Eastern Orthodox Religion, by the Reverend Haplonov, and my parents friends Nick, and Frances Dieduch, became my Godparents.

Did it take?

Well, you be the judge.

While I still sat around the house in my underwear, by the end of the month I was at least wearing a T-shirt, and...

50 years later, I still loaf around the house in my underwear, and still do so wearing a T-shirt. ;-D

It's been a long, complicated, journey, this life of mine.

Through good times, and bad, I've perservered, and become a better person, with a better life, than I was, and had, 12 years ago.

From working for 17 years (1984-2001) for an Independent Bookstore Chain in the Pomona Valley, working my way up to spend the last 11 of those years as a Store Manager, making around $7 an hour, to where I am now working, since 2004, as a Directory Assistance Operator for a prominent Wireless Phone company, making almost $15 an hour, and publishing 2 other blogs besides this one...

The Cycling Dude, and the popular Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat (Actually Nikita is the writer...I just provide the pictures, and video assisitance. ;-D).

What does the future hold?

Will I make other career, and life, changes?

Will there be another generation of my blood, in America, carrying the proud name of Kundurazieff?

I do not know.

I'm not the most religious person on the planet, but the words of my Mother, and our old friend, my adopted Grandma, Leona, seem appropriate...

It's all in God's Hands...

   

  

Antique Stores: Sad Place or Happy Place for the Genealogist?

Yesterday I spent the afternoon wandering around the collection of Antique Stores in Old Towne Orange, Ca., looking for a Vintage Radio Microphone, as a possible prop for my YouTube Videos.

I did not find what I was looking for, and got a better idea anyway, but it was both fascinating, and depressing, to wander around these stores.

Fascinating because of all the cool, beautiful, and strange, stuff one encounters, not to mention these places are a Book, and Record Album, Lovers Wet Dream (Books as old as 1870, in excellent condition, for as little as $10!).

Depressing, from a Genealogy perspective, because of the beautiful (Yes, even a simple B &W image of a person, with no backround, can be beautiful.) Daguerreotypes, photographs, and portraits going back to, at least, the Civil War.

Big ones, small ones, Family Group Photos, High School or College Team Photos, Company Photos, and more, many with names, dates, locations, and messages of all sorts written on the back, all seemingly lost for all time to the descendants of the people in these fascinating glimpses into the past.

Oh, and please don't get me started on the Family Bibles, and Personal Diaries, one encounters as well.

I wonder if there are people out there, in the Genealogy Community, that specialize in re-uniting these lost Photographic Souls, and written treasures, with those who will value, and cherish, them not as opportunities to make money, but as the valuable Family Heirlooms that they are?

Geneabloggers Publishes Results of Survey of Genealogy Bloggers

Thomas MacEntree publishes the contents of a great survey, with some fascinating results to share. ;-D

He writes:

"In July 2009, GeneaBloggers gathered input from the genealogy blogging community as part of the Genealogy Blogging Survey contest. Today we are releasing the results of the survey to give an idea of the impact genealogy blogging has had and will continue to have on the genealogy community.

Who took the Survey?

As expected from a survey accessed at a site called GeneaBloggers, almost 75% of the respondents own at least one genealogy or family history-related blog.  And blogging is not something new for this crowd—over half have been actively blogging about genealogy since at least 2007.  These bloggers are among those that typically participate in various forms of online genealogy research and are often known as geneabloggers."

Read all about it here.

As expected from a survey accessed at a site called GeneaBloggers, almost 75% of the respondents own at least one genealogy or family history-related blog.  And blogging is not something new for this crowd—over half have been actively blogging about genealogy since at least 2007.  These bloggers are among those that typically participate in various forms of online genealogy research and are often known as geneabloggers.

Read more: http://www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-blogging-survey-results/#ixzz0PK1TO0Px
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

As expected from a survey accessed at a site called GeneaBloggers, almost 75% of the respondents own at least one genealogy or family history-related blog.  And blogging is not something new for this crowd—over half have been actively blogging about genealogy since at least 2007.  These bloggers are among those that typically participate in various forms of online genealogy research and are often known as geneabloggers.

Read more: http://www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-blogging-survey-results/#ixzz0PK1TO0Px
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

As expected from a survey accessed at a site called GeneaBloggers, almost 75% of the respondents own at least one genealogy or family history-related blog.  And blogging is not something new for this crowd—over half have been actively blogging about genealogy since at least 2007.  These bloggers are among those that typically participate in various forms of online genealogy research and are often known as geneabloggers.

Read more: http://www.geneabloggers.com/genealogy-blogging-survey-results/#ixzz0PK1TO0Px
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike

Ancestry.com to Plant Public Roots in Stock Market?

Wandering thru the Business Section of my  local paper, yesterday, I came up a short note that says Ancestry.com has filed with the SEC a proposal for an initial public offering of some of its shares.

Apparently Ancestry is seeking the OK to sell $75 million in stock.

The company did not give a date for the proposed IPO and, as of 1pm PST, today, there was no mention yet on their blog.

Hat Tip to the OC Register!

Jewelry Box, Belonging to Mom, Still Plays Tune, and Now Holds My Class Rings

For over a year, now, The Smile for the Camera Genealogy Blog Carnival has been using monthly prompts to get folks to share their treasured photos.

The site says that: "Your submission may include as many or as few words as you feel are necessary to describe your treasured photograph. Those words may be in the form of an expressive comment, a quote, a journal entry, a poem (your own or a favorite), a scrapbook page, or a heartfelt article. The choice is yours!"

Cool! I decided to join the fun with the 16th Edition, appearing next week.

The word prompt for the 16th Edition of Smile For The Camera is "Bling, ancestor Bling." I am always drawn to the beautiful jewelry worn by our ancestors in old photographs. The locket that was your Great Grandmother's treasure, the pocket watch proudly displayed by a male ancestor, the beautiful crosses of old, and the children with their tiny bracelets. While not many of our ancestors were wealthy enough to own multiple pieces of jewelry, there was the one good piece that held sentimental value. Some of us have been fortunate enough to inherit those treasures. Show us a photograph of your ancestor wearing their "Bling," or photographs of the pieces you have inherited

I don't have pictures of my Mom prominently wearing her jewelry, but I have her Jewelry Box. ;-D

Footnote Maven, encourages Smiling for the Camera on her blog, and at Shades of the Departed, as well. ;-D

 I was born in 1960.

I belive my Mother bought this sometime before that, but can't confirm that.

Ever since my early childhood I remember this box, and the tune called Around the World, that would come out of it when Mom wound the pin on its bottom, all the way around.

The tune lasts about 5 minutes, and still plays perfectly today. ;-D

My Mom kept her ear rings, necklaces, and other things in this Music Box, and the key still works, to lock the box, as well.

Since the early 90's I have kept my High School, and College, Class Rings, from Pomona High 1978, and Cal State University Los Angeles 1982, inside it. ;-D

Are You a Taphophile?

Taphophilia describes those folks with a "love of cemeteries and funerals".

All you Genealogists, and others, who like to stroll around graveyards, and share your findings online, apparently have a word to describe yourselves, as The Taphophile's Handbook website says, "without sounding like strange sexual perverts." ;-D

The Taphophile's Handbook is "A Guide to Collections, and Celebrations, Plus Alternatives to Vandalism, and Theft, and is a fascinating site.

Wikipedia says: Taphophilia is a passion for and enjoyment of cemeteries.

Taphophilia involves epitaphs, gravestone rubbing, photography, art, and history of deaths, both of the famous, and the ordinary.

The Wikipedia page has many useful links for Genealogists, and here is another: The Association of Graveyard Rabbits!

Sheila, of the blog Ma Vie Folle, shared her thoughts, and some absolutely wonderful photos, on her blog, last November:

Yeah, so I like cemeteries.  I admit it. 

“Hello, my name is Sheila, and I am a Taphophile”

I wonder if this is where, when I walk through the cemetery gates everyone yells “Sheila!” like in Cheers.   Hmmmmm, I hope not, considering most people in the cemetery are pretty much dead.

She took her kids "Cemetery Hopping" to, um, visit Her Grandma's ancestors, and neighbors. ;-D