I invested as much time as I could last weekend outside, soaking up the last vestige of summer although we always look to the brief return of some warm weather we call "Indian Summer" which according to my mother can not arrive until after the first frost of fall. The trees are beginning to turn color, not just the few prematurely dying leaves of a few weeks ago. Monday morning Mikey invited me out ... He goes out the door a few steps, turns and sits, looking at me to respond. I realized that it was just about 70⁰ so, armed with a cup of coffee, I sat in the warm sun for my daily meditation. After about a half hour the clouds gathered and a cool breeze announced the arrival of the cool front. Our "bonus days" had cone to an end.

Going back a little, Dan called Saturday evening to relate the story of the lady who called looking for Frank Plefka. Dan said he know of no Frank Plefka and politely ended the conversation. But then thinking it may be another of my relatives, and using the magic of Caller ID, he called her back. We don't recognize her name but the Frank Plefka she was trying to find is about 55 years old and her half brother who she has not heard from in about 5 years. I had an uncle Frank but no cousins named Frank. It could be the son of a cousin There is a Frank listed as living in a Southern Suburb of Chicago but his phone number is unlisted. We could not help her.

I went to Dan and Karen's for a short visit Sunday. They were having a "Bears Party" and had invited some friends. The invitation included a dip in the pool. Although the water was 85⁰ and looked inviting and the air temp was about 80⁰, there was a strong south wind whipping up white caps in the water. Dan had been in earlier but there were no takers while I was there. I did sample a snack ,,, delicious but I was saving my apatite for later. No offence intended to Tom, but shortly after he arrived I left.

I met Dick & Jan Halford at Toby's for dinner. We had a delicious meal and although the service had been disappointing in the past, it was very good on this visit. When Toby's opened many years ago it was an elegant place, one of the best in the area. It has changed ownership and name a couple times and with the latest owner going back to the original name. However, in the intervening years they have expanded, adding a large party room, not sufficiently isolated from the main dinning room, and loosing its former intimacy. The cozy booths are gone and the tables and chairs lack the elegance of the original. In any case, the food was plentiful and excellent.

We went on the the Halford's house and enjoyed some Pinochle. I had a chance to look at the photos from their Cruse of the British Isles and we caught up on family news. It was a great Day.

An email came from Tom late Monday evening. Normally I wouldn't have seen it until Tuesday but I wasn't really interested in anything that was on TV and I heard my computer announce ...  Click to hear . There was no message, just several photos. When you click on the one at the left you will see that is is the cover of the program for the evening at Marist High School for the National Honor Society Induction Ceremony of October 22, 2007. Have you ever seen a happier face! Congratulations Caitlin. She is indeed a Grand granddaughter!

Congratulations Caitlin!

The National Honor Society is comprised of Students who excel in Character, Scholarship, Leadership and Service. One or two of those won't cut it ... the student must excel in all four. Tom didn't need any words in his email ... the photo at the right says it all and the cover of the program provided all the explanation necessary. To see what it takes to be admitted to this prestigious group visit the NHS web site. By the way, Kelsey Plefka was admitted to the Junior National Honor Society in Jr. HS. They follow a family tradition started by grandson, Dominick Albano in 1996. Is Grandpa proud?

I had asked a niece (Cleveland) to provide me with the Copeland family birth dates. Her email arrived on Tuesday but I didn't find time to study it until Wednesday. As a result, I called my sister Rita to wish her a Happy Birthday. The information came just in time! John and Rita are doing well and John has adjusted the time he goes for dialysis so that he has bus service in both directions.

I have never been able to wish a sister of mine "Happy Birthday" before. I missed a couple sibling birthdays earlier this year but now I know the dates and future ones will not get past me. Of course Rita has no computer and won't see the greeting on this page but those of you in Cleveland who see this can tell her about it. I haven't given away her age and I won't, suffice to say she is younger than I by more than a few years.

The website has another new page. I mentioned last week that I had come across a notation that Sarah Ames, wife of Josiah Packard (1723-1806), was a descendant of Mayflower passenger Francis Cooke. That bit of information, of course, generated several days of research and adding people to the Packard family tree. The story of the Francis Cook connection is just a bit odd in that he and all the pilgrims, due to the Puritan persecution in England, relocated to Holland. Francis married and had several children there. When he and the other pilgrims went back to England and then sailed on the Mayflower to America, only his oldest son went with him, leaving the rest of the family in Holland. His wife followed with the others three years later. It was his daughter Jane who arrived on the ship Anne in 1623 who was the 2nd great-grandmother of Josiah Packard. But ... even though she came to America on the Anne in 1623, hrough her, Francis Cooke, Mayflower Passenger, was the 3rd great-grandfather of Josiah Packard. As a result, my mother's family and my father's family both have ancestors who came over on the Mayflower.

As long as I was researching the connection from Josiah to Francis Cooke, I did a little extra work and traced all of Josiah's ancestors back to the earliest arrivals and found some interesting facts about some interesting people. I invite you to visit the The Packard - Mayflower Connection .

I have already done a similar ancestor tree for David Copeland (1704-1750) and so, it would appear that a page dedicated to the Copeland - Mayflower Connection is forthcoming. I have already recorded the connection to John and Pricilla Alden but need to relate something about other arrivals in this line including Thomas Townsend and Samuel Bass. Maybe I should go down a couple generations to David (1738 - 1779). He was the first Copeland US Citizen. This would expand the number of ancestors described on the page included  ... something to think about.

During my research it occurred to me that the son of Francis Cooke, John was 14 years old during the Mayflower voyage. He must have known 16 year old Pricilla Mullins. However, I imagine she probably considered him a child. You know how 16 year old girls can be.

I was feeling good about Mikey. My little friend had gone over a month without a seizure. Then Tuesday afternoon I heard him thrashing about on the floor in the hall. All you can do is try to sooth him and make sure he doesn't hurt himself. That episode seemed to last longer than those past but he calmed down and regained his legs, soon behaving as nothing had happened. Paula had called to ask me to bring him in for his hair cut and bath on Wednesday instead of his Thursday appointment. When I brought him to Touch of Class he had another, much shorter seizure, This time recovery was swift and Paula took care of him without further incident. I will need to make an appointment with the vet and get him started on medication.

Bible Study on Thursday morning was interesting. One of the people asked about the differences in "our God", the "Jewish God" and the "Muslim God". I was amazed at the question because as Christians we believe in one God. And yet, due to the different names we use for God and the different character different people attribute to God, this person could ask that question. I volunteered the explanation that it is not a matter of having different gods but a matter of people's perception of God that differs.  Some see Him as controlling and manipulative, some as vengeful and punishing, and others as loving and caring. Obviously as the Creator of all people, each group claims Him to be on "their side". Each of us in our ego driven mentality believes that our perception of God is the real God. And so we have "holy wars". We have the kind of convoluted thought that even though God created all of us He would want to have us destroy those of His children who do not conform to our perception of what He wants.

We make little if any effort to try to understand the viewpoint of those who differ with us. If they try to explain themselves we often take their efforts as an attack on our beliefs and customs. Ego in action! Wednesday the mail brought an envelope from National Geographic and I almost tossed it in the recycle bin as another pitch to sell me another book. But something stopped me and I not only read the add but I will buy the book, "Peoples of the World". The book traces the journey of humankind from its origins .. a common origin for all the diverse people of the world. It covers the many languages and customs, how they evolved and how they blended again. It is an opportunity for me to better understand our differences and in the understanding, accept them. I have several National Geographic books in my library and have not been disappointed in any of them.

As far as understanding God is concerned ... He is Supernatural ... and that term says it all. I do not expect to be able to know or understand Him in this natural life. That is beyond my mortal abilities. I only need to know what He expects of me and Jesus told us all about that. I also know that it is not my function to judge my fellow travelers in this world or force my perception of God's will on others. I'll do my thing, as best I can, and hopefully improving as I go. If others see value in my efforts I invite them to join and share with me.