That's a big question, and I'm not sure I have much of an answer, as it is something I have not given much thought, mainly because I haven't had the time!
I'm so busy with my historical research into St. Augustine, Florida, between 1784 and 1821, that I don't have time to contemplate the question. And, honestly, I'm having so much fun with it that I'm not sure there's anything else I'd rather be doing. The project is a lot of paperwork, but I do not fear paperwork because I was a yeoman in the U.S. Coast Guard. In fact, the paperwork fears me!
But are there things I regret not having done?
Yes. I wish I had taped my grandma's stories that she told me. I wish I had visited a friend when I could have, but didn't.
I wish I had had more of a handle on what to choose as a major the first time I went to college, back in the 1960s. I wish I had been more assertive when I was younger, and thrown off the traditional expectations of my family back in the 1950s.
And what have I done that I'm glad I did?
I'm glad I went to college in the 1960s, because I have friends from that time that I see every few years, and keep up with in a semi-annual newsletter that we contribute to and that one of our number has been ever-faithful in sending out for the past 52 years!
I'm certainly glad I joined the Coast Guard, when I saw how my Coast Guard officer husband was enjoying it, and doing so many varied and interesting things in it. I enlisted, and after several years, I got a commission. I also did varied and interesting things, some of which were way outside of my comfort zone, but which I managed to handle well. That was a real growth experience!
I'm glad I married the man I married almost 47 years ago (as of the 20th of February). We've had good times and hard times. We have two great daughters and a wonderful grandson and the best son-in-law we could have hoped for. And we've had a lot of laughs.
I'm glad I had those two daughters. We are very close, and always have had a lot in common. We enjoy being with each other and we have fun!
So what do I wish I were doing now?
Well, I'd sure like to go to Suffolk, in England, and research my genealogy on my father's side. I'd like to go to London, too, not only for family research at their National Archives, but also to do some research on the British period in Florida (1763-1783), in relation to my researches on St. Augustine. I'd like to visit Ireland and Germany. I'd like to go back to Spain and see some sights I didn't see last time. I'd like to go to Canada, where my father's family has roots, and do research there. There are a number of trips inside the U.S. I'd like to make, and indeed right here in Florida, too.
There. I answered the question, after all.
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Monday, January 22, 2018
The Book of Me: Who Inspires You?
That's a loaded question. I could ask, "Inspires me to do what?" There are people out there who inspire me (inadvertently, I'm sure) to do violence. Let's exclude them right off the bat. (I was originally going to say, "Let's eliminate them . . ." but that could be taken the wrong way!)
That leaves inspiration in a positive sense.
I have had people throughout my life who have inspired me to learn and to love learning. My senior English teacher at duPont High School, Mrs. Hartzog, was one. My aunt, Elizabeth Reed, for whom my younger daughter is named, was another. That got me to go back to college many, many years later, at the age of 60, and earn two post-baccalaureate degrees, in History and Spanish, and then go for a master's degree in Florida Studies (a program found only at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg).
Turns out I became inspiration for some youngsters, to hear my buddy, one of the custodians at USFSP, tell it. That cuts both ways, because the young students who were my classmates inspired me, too, with their energy and enthusiasm.
I come from a family (on my mother's side) with a weird sense of humor that tends toward puns. I guess it's in the Reed blood. My grandpa made up songs that consisted of puns. My aforementioned aunt was a great humorist, and could entertain crowds with amusing monologues that skewered human foibles. My mother also had a great big sense of humor. My husband also has a weird sense of humor. These family members have inspired me to see the absurdity of life, and to find humor in it.
My friends inspire me to see beyond myself to the greater number, and to seek the greater good.
There were leaders whom it was my honor to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard. The ones who displayed the best characteristics of leadership led me to strive to emulate their leadership style. These were the ones who took care of their personnel, keeping up with our professional development, seeing to it that we could meet our family's needs in emergencies, and directing us to achieve the missions of the Coast Guard.
Those are a few of the people who have inspired me.
That leaves inspiration in a positive sense.
I have had people throughout my life who have inspired me to learn and to love learning. My senior English teacher at duPont High School, Mrs. Hartzog, was one. My aunt, Elizabeth Reed, for whom my younger daughter is named, was another. That got me to go back to college many, many years later, at the age of 60, and earn two post-baccalaureate degrees, in History and Spanish, and then go for a master's degree in Florida Studies (a program found only at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg).
Turns out I became inspiration for some youngsters, to hear my buddy, one of the custodians at USFSP, tell it. That cuts both ways, because the young students who were my classmates inspired me, too, with their energy and enthusiasm.
I come from a family (on my mother's side) with a weird sense of humor that tends toward puns. I guess it's in the Reed blood. My grandpa made up songs that consisted of puns. My aforementioned aunt was a great humorist, and could entertain crowds with amusing monologues that skewered human foibles. My mother also had a great big sense of humor. My husband also has a weird sense of humor. These family members have inspired me to see the absurdity of life, and to find humor in it.
My friends inspire me to see beyond myself to the greater number, and to seek the greater good.
There were leaders whom it was my honor to serve in the U.S. Coast Guard. The ones who displayed the best characteristics of leadership led me to strive to emulate their leadership style. These were the ones who took care of their personnel, keeping up with our professional development, seeing to it that we could meet our family's needs in emergencies, and directing us to achieve the missions of the Coast Guard.
Those are a few of the people who have inspired me.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
#52Ancestors: Number 1 -- Samuel, who started it all
Here's another set of blogging prompts, courtesy of Amy Johnson Crow (thank you, Amy!) that, if I keep up with them, might help me keep this blog more active. Since I'm starting a week late, I'll do two this week.
Number 1 on the list is Samuel Packard (c. 1610-1684), who emigrated from Stonham Aspal, Suffolk, England to Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1638, during the "Great Migration."
Samuel was my eighth great-grandfather and the progenitor of most of the Packards present in the United States. He is directly in my paternal line, my descent being, in the Packard surname:
Samuel
Zaccheus
Zaccheus
Eleazer
Richards
John Allen
Matthew Hale
Oscar Merry
Walter Heatherington
Arden (my father)
Samuel left England as a separatist, a protestor against the Chuch of England and the excesses of Archbishop William Laud. When I was a kid, I had a Puritanical streak, and always wondered where it came from until I started delving into my family history and discovered myself to be a direct descendant of Massachusetts Puritans! So I come by it honestly!
His wife was named Elizabeth, though the most reliable family research has failed to turn up her maiden surname. Samuel and Elizabeth were married in Suffolk, and boarded the ship Diligent with an infant girl, Mary.
Samuel was a farmer and keeper of an ordinary, a word used in those days for a tavern located in one's home. A room on the first floor of the house would be opened to the public for purchase of libations of an alcoholic nature (Puritans weren't all that pure!), and I would imagine for some lively conversations, too. He also served the town at different times as surveyor of highways and collector of minister's rates (that is to say, taxes).
Samuel and Elizabeth had fourteen children. Two of them, twin girls Jane and Abigail, died young. One, Israel, lived to young adulthood and then disappeared from records. He was a soldier, and may have lost his life in that role.
Samuel's will was made 29 October 1684, nine days before his death. Though Samuel was a literate man, Puritanism being a literate movement and his municipal offices also indicating literacy, he signed his will "by mark," which may indicate that he was too infirm in his terminal illness to have signed his name.
He bequeathed to his "loveing wiff Elizabeth" (ya gotta love the creative spelling of those days before orthography) all of his lands, buildings, and possessions for the rest of her life, then they were to be divided among their children as stipulated in the will. There was apparently one no-good son-in-law among the flock, at least as Samuel saw him, for there is a stipulation in the will that provides that the inheritance of his daughter Jael, wife of John Smith, should not be delivered to John, but be given directly to hand to Jael. John apparently was not to be trusted with money.
Samuel worked hard and left his family well enough off. Good Puritan.
Number 1 on the list is Samuel Packard (c. 1610-1684), who emigrated from Stonham Aspal, Suffolk, England to Hingham, Massachusetts, in 1638, during the "Great Migration."
Samuel was my eighth great-grandfather and the progenitor of most of the Packards present in the United States. He is directly in my paternal line, my descent being, in the Packard surname:
Samuel
Zaccheus
Zaccheus
Eleazer
Richards
John Allen
Matthew Hale
Oscar Merry
Walter Heatherington
Arden (my father)
Samuel left England as a separatist, a protestor against the Chuch of England and the excesses of Archbishop William Laud. When I was a kid, I had a Puritanical streak, and always wondered where it came from until I started delving into my family history and discovered myself to be a direct descendant of Massachusetts Puritans! So I come by it honestly!
His wife was named Elizabeth, though the most reliable family research has failed to turn up her maiden surname. Samuel and Elizabeth were married in Suffolk, and boarded the ship Diligent with an infant girl, Mary.
Samuel was a farmer and keeper of an ordinary, a word used in those days for a tavern located in one's home. A room on the first floor of the house would be opened to the public for purchase of libations of an alcoholic nature (Puritans weren't all that pure!), and I would imagine for some lively conversations, too. He also served the town at different times as surveyor of highways and collector of minister's rates (that is to say, taxes).
Samuel and Elizabeth had fourteen children. Two of them, twin girls Jane and Abigail, died young. One, Israel, lived to young adulthood and then disappeared from records. He was a soldier, and may have lost his life in that role.
Samuel's will was made 29 October 1684, nine days before his death. Though Samuel was a literate man, Puritanism being a literate movement and his municipal offices also indicating literacy, he signed his will "by mark," which may indicate that he was too infirm in his terminal illness to have signed his name.
He bequeathed to his "loveing wiff Elizabeth" (ya gotta love the creative spelling of those days before orthography) all of his lands, buildings, and possessions for the rest of her life, then they were to be divided among their children as stipulated in the will. There was apparently one no-good son-in-law among the flock, at least as Samuel saw him, for there is a stipulation in the will that provides that the inheritance of his daughter Jael, wife of John Smith, should not be delivered to John, but be given directly to hand to Jael. John apparently was not to be trusted with money.
Samuel worked hard and left his family well enough off. Good Puritan.
Monday, January 8, 2018
The Book of Me: What do you enjoy?
I am a certified oddball. Or, if you prefer (or if you're British), eccentric. I like a lot of stuff that people today just don't care for.
Music: I enjoy classical music. My three favorite classical composers are all twentieth-century: Aaron Copland, Richard Rodgers, and Leonard Bernstein. However, I also enjoy Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and even earlier composers. I like classical music from all over the place, including Asia (Chinese and Japanese classics are wonderful). I also enjoy opera, being particularly fond of Antonio Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti. I love bluegrass and what I call Real Country -- that which existed before it became nothing more than banal rock'n'roll with a southern accent. I'm talking about A. P. Carter and Ralph Stanley and their contemporaries. I like world music, especially Spanish, because I have spent time in Spain. I lived with a University of North Florida classmate in the Triana neighborhood (or, in the Spanish word, barrio) of Seville while we were researching at the General Archive of the Indies. The apartment was on the second floor (or, in the European manner, the first) over a flamenco studio! Wow! That was great! Wonderful study music.
Movies: My husband and I are both movie buffs. We like many modern movies (though our tastes vary) and the classics. My favorite classic movie is Sunset Boulevard. I think his is Citizen Kane. He likes action flicks, usually involving comic book characters. I'd rather see a good drama or mystery. I am very finicky about comedies. Some of them coming out since the sixties are just plain dumb as a box of rocks. Why they're popular is a mystery to me, but then one must take into account that one never will go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public. (H. L. Mencken said that.) However, we've seen some hilarious ones, including Over the Hedge. That was a scream, and William Shatner's death scene was such a self-parody! What a hoot! I also have to confess to one guilty pleasure in movies: I love cheesy disaster movies, because they're just so funny to me. They all have pretty much the same plotline (kooky scientist whose outlandish theory is dismissed by others saves the world, or at least what's left of it after the disaster plays out) and the same cardboard characters, including an action-hero type (cop, fireman, military person) whose personal life is an unmitigated mess.
Food: Well, here, I may be closer to the mainstream. My favorite food is steak. I love it! I'm also a chocoholic. My favorite is dark chocolate. I also love good fruit. A nice, sweet watermelon is such a pleasure in the summer.
I also enjoy my family and friends. At Thanksgiving and Christmas, we expand our family to include two sisters whom we met years ago through other friends, and who live in our area with no other family around. We all have a fine time on the holidays.
My husband and I both enjoy our cat, Gabriela. Sometimes she is crazy, running from one end of the house to the other, climbing (sometimes places where we wish she wouldn't, but she also has approved climbing places we've provided for her), and sometimes stealthily attacking us as we walk by. She is, as our friend Tom observed generally about cats, "an endless source of amusement in our idle hours." She's also very attached to both of us, camping out near us and sleeping with us.
I enjoy scenery, especially mountains as I am a Californian transplated to flat old Florida. The scene out my office window is nice, even if it is flat, and Gabriela is currently enjoying it as well, all loafed up on her window shelf. Sometimes turkeys come out of the state forest our lot backs up to, and she does enjoy watching them!
Finally, I enjoy my work as an independent historian, translating and analyzing two-hundred-year-old Spanish documents concerning St. Augustine, Florida. There are aggravations and frustrations (usually somehow involving the computer), but the work is fascinating and I can spend hours on it, forgetting to eat (more of that, and I just might lose these pounds of fat)!
Overall, even with the disgusting state of public events and discourse, a very enjoyable life!
Music: I enjoy classical music. My three favorite classical composers are all twentieth-century: Aaron Copland, Richard Rodgers, and Leonard Bernstein. However, I also enjoy Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, and even earlier composers. I like classical music from all over the place, including Asia (Chinese and Japanese classics are wonderful). I also enjoy opera, being particularly fond of Antonio Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti. I love bluegrass and what I call Real Country -- that which existed before it became nothing more than banal rock'n'roll with a southern accent. I'm talking about A. P. Carter and Ralph Stanley and their contemporaries. I like world music, especially Spanish, because I have spent time in Spain. I lived with a University of North Florida classmate in the Triana neighborhood (or, in the Spanish word, barrio) of Seville while we were researching at the General Archive of the Indies. The apartment was on the second floor (or, in the European manner, the first) over a flamenco studio! Wow! That was great! Wonderful study music.
Movies: My husband and I are both movie buffs. We like many modern movies (though our tastes vary) and the classics. My favorite classic movie is Sunset Boulevard. I think his is Citizen Kane. He likes action flicks, usually involving comic book characters. I'd rather see a good drama or mystery. I am very finicky about comedies. Some of them coming out since the sixties are just plain dumb as a box of rocks. Why they're popular is a mystery to me, but then one must take into account that one never will go broke underestimating the intelligence of the American public. (H. L. Mencken said that.) However, we've seen some hilarious ones, including Over the Hedge. That was a scream, and William Shatner's death scene was such a self-parody! What a hoot! I also have to confess to one guilty pleasure in movies: I love cheesy disaster movies, because they're just so funny to me. They all have pretty much the same plotline (kooky scientist whose outlandish theory is dismissed by others saves the world, or at least what's left of it after the disaster plays out) and the same cardboard characters, including an action-hero type (cop, fireman, military person) whose personal life is an unmitigated mess.
Food: Well, here, I may be closer to the mainstream. My favorite food is steak. I love it! I'm also a chocoholic. My favorite is dark chocolate. I also love good fruit. A nice, sweet watermelon is such a pleasure in the summer.
I also enjoy my family and friends. At Thanksgiving and Christmas, we expand our family to include two sisters whom we met years ago through other friends, and who live in our area with no other family around. We all have a fine time on the holidays.
My husband and I both enjoy our cat, Gabriela. Sometimes she is crazy, running from one end of the house to the other, climbing (sometimes places where we wish she wouldn't, but she also has approved climbing places we've provided for her), and sometimes stealthily attacking us as we walk by. She is, as our friend Tom observed generally about cats, "an endless source of amusement in our idle hours." She's also very attached to both of us, camping out near us and sleeping with us.
I enjoy scenery, especially mountains as I am a Californian transplated to flat old Florida. The scene out my office window is nice, even if it is flat, and Gabriela is currently enjoying it as well, all loafed up on her window shelf. Sometimes turkeys come out of the state forest our lot backs up to, and she does enjoy watching them!
Finally, I enjoy my work as an independent historian, translating and analyzing two-hundred-year-old Spanish documents concerning St. Augustine, Florida. There are aggravations and frustrations (usually somehow involving the computer), but the work is fascinating and I can spend hours on it, forgetting to eat (more of that, and I just might lose these pounds of fat)!
Overall, even with the disgusting state of public events and discourse, a very enjoyable life!
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
The Book of Me: What do you look like?
Well, the first thing that pops into the weird brain of this 70-year-old former Coast Guard member is: What do I look like? I look like hell, sir!
Today I am not at my best. 2017 beat up on me pretty bad, starting midway, in June, when I fell and broke my shoulder. And for the past month, I have been through the Battle of the Kidney Stone, which was finally removed 21 December by being blasted apart with a laser, and I won't go into more detail than to say the final step in the healing process for that was taken today.
I am short, 5'4" tall. I'm not slim, being a sedentary sort and too fond of sweets. My hair is both grey and going away, as I am subject to the same problem of thinning hair that my mother had, and if I make it to 80 I will be one of those old dames with a few wisps of hair clinging to my pink scalp. I think I'm going to develop a fondness for hats.
And they do say that married people come to resemble each other after many years of marriage. We're coming up on 47 years, and my husband is bald as an egg. I'm headed that way.
I also am not by any stretch of the imagination a fashion plate. I'm rather a fashion paper towel, really. Since I was a teen, it has been my deeply-held belief that the fashion industry is nothing more than a plot to separate the gullible from their money. Since I've never had scads of money, anyway, that was a rational position to take!
My fashion for this morning was long socks (compression socks), blue jeans, Land's End water-resistant boots, a turtleneck, gloves, my watch cap that proclaims me to be of the House of Hufflepuff, and my Land's End jacket certified for use down to 20 deg. F. It's cold in northeast Florida today, and wet. Right now, I'm in blue sweatshirt and sweatpants. My motto is a paraphrase of the old Ford slogan, as I maintain that Comfort is Job 1.
I'm only beginning to get wrinkles on my face. I've been mistaken for being 20 years younger than I am, and I maintain that this is the result of my having experimented with make-up in my teen years, like most teenage girls, and having discovered that I was totally and completely inept with it. I decided it would be better if I left it alone. It certainly has been better for my skin! And the money I saved on not buying that stuff left me with the option of being able to buy books instead! That also worked out for the better.
What do I look like? Well, here is a photo taken about 10 years ago, when I was a student at the University of North Florida -- I went back to college at age 60, got 2 post-baccalaureate degrees, then went on to grad school. But that is a story for another day.
Today I am not at my best. 2017 beat up on me pretty bad, starting midway, in June, when I fell and broke my shoulder. And for the past month, I have been through the Battle of the Kidney Stone, which was finally removed 21 December by being blasted apart with a laser, and I won't go into more detail than to say the final step in the healing process for that was taken today.
I am short, 5'4" tall. I'm not slim, being a sedentary sort and too fond of sweets. My hair is both grey and going away, as I am subject to the same problem of thinning hair that my mother had, and if I make it to 80 I will be one of those old dames with a few wisps of hair clinging to my pink scalp. I think I'm going to develop a fondness for hats.
And they do say that married people come to resemble each other after many years of marriage. We're coming up on 47 years, and my husband is bald as an egg. I'm headed that way.
I also am not by any stretch of the imagination a fashion plate. I'm rather a fashion paper towel, really. Since I was a teen, it has been my deeply-held belief that the fashion industry is nothing more than a plot to separate the gullible from their money. Since I've never had scads of money, anyway, that was a rational position to take!
My fashion for this morning was long socks (compression socks), blue jeans, Land's End water-resistant boots, a turtleneck, gloves, my watch cap that proclaims me to be of the House of Hufflepuff, and my Land's End jacket certified for use down to 20 deg. F. It's cold in northeast Florida today, and wet. Right now, I'm in blue sweatshirt and sweatpants. My motto is a paraphrase of the old Ford slogan, as I maintain that Comfort is Job 1.
I'm only beginning to get wrinkles on my face. I've been mistaken for being 20 years younger than I am, and I maintain that this is the result of my having experimented with make-up in my teen years, like most teenage girls, and having discovered that I was totally and completely inept with it. I decided it would be better if I left it alone. It certainly has been better for my skin! And the money I saved on not buying that stuff left me with the option of being able to buy books instead! That also worked out for the better.
What do I look like? Well, here is a photo taken about 10 years ago, when I was a student at the University of North Florida -- I went back to college at age 60, got 2 post-baccalaureate degrees, then went on to grad school. But that is a story for another day.
Monday, January 1, 2018
The Book of Me: Who Am I?
I first answered this particular blogging prompt in 2013. I did three more of the Book of Me, Written by You prompts, provided by Julie Goucher. Then I got distracted, and did not complete the year's posts.
Julie is doing the Book again. We've both been subject to distractions, but will try to soldier on.
So the first prompt, just as it was the last time, is to answer the question "Who am I?" at least 20 times. My answers have changed somewhat, as my situation has changed. So here, with the first responses that come into my mind, are my answers to this question.
I am . . .
A historian.
A writer.
A genealogist.
A translator of 200-year-old Spanish documents.
A wife.
A mother.
A grandmother.
An aunt.
A grand-aunt!
A lover of music of various kinds.
A reader.
A person owned by a cat.
A punster.
A curmudgeon.
A stubborn woman.
A former Coast Guard member -- active and reserve, enlisted and officer.
A "Floridated" Californian.
An old person with various medical issues.
A person with a too-active sweet tooth!
A football fan (especially this year, with the Jaguars in the playoffs!).
Julie is doing the Book again. We've both been subject to distractions, but will try to soldier on.
So the first prompt, just as it was the last time, is to answer the question "Who am I?" at least 20 times. My answers have changed somewhat, as my situation has changed. So here, with the first responses that come into my mind, are my answers to this question.
I am . . .
A historian.
A writer.
A genealogist.
A translator of 200-year-old Spanish documents.
A wife.
A mother.
A grandmother.
An aunt.
A grand-aunt!
A lover of music of various kinds.
A reader.
A person owned by a cat.
A punster.
A curmudgeon.
A stubborn woman.
A former Coast Guard member -- active and reserve, enlisted and officer.
A "Floridated" Californian.
An old person with various medical issues.
A person with a too-active sweet tooth!
A football fan (especially this year, with the Jaguars in the playoffs!).
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