Credit where credit is due ... It was Diane who sent the photos of Caitlin at the induction into the National Honor Society, not Tom. But she used Tom's email address when posting the photos on the web. I found that out when Tom came by Friday evening, He was going to be in the neighborhood to pick up Kelly at a friend's party and so came over for a visit. And so, I put him to work on a problem I was having with a lamp. The bulbs had burnt out and I had replaced them with the new small fluorescent variety but they did not work so I took them out again. He simply screwed them in and it worked. I am sure that the problem was that I didn't have them tight enough. It is pretty sad when I need my son to help me screw in a light bulb. They make jokes about that sort of thing. In any case, Thanks Tom.

Earlier in the evening I went to the newly opened Lithuanian restaurant in the neighborhood. They only have 11 tables and two were occupied when I arrived. Before I left they were all filled. The menu had a limited number of selections. I couldn't decide between the Lithuanian sausage and sauerkraut or the pork tenderloin. Since Anne made terrific Lithuanian sauerkraut, I decided on the sausage. I was told they didn't have any and as I started to ask for the pork tenderloin she said that was not available either. She offered the special of the day, pork stew with mashed potatoes and so that was it. The stew was served on a dinner plate with the mashed potatoes, finely cut cold beets and another vegetable with the consistency of a slaw but orange in color. I could not identify the taste. The owner and her daughter had become so busy that I did not get a chance to ask what it was. The meal was good and sufficient for my needs. I cleaned my plate. A slice of Lithuanian rye bread would have been nice but no bread was offered. What do you want for $8.95.  Checking out at the deli section with it's mostly empty shelves and coolers I spotted bacon buns for .55 each and purchased three. Anne's, mom used to make them and I loved them. Hers had bits of bacon and onion distributed throughout. When I ate these at home, each roll contained a small ball of a bacon mixture. They weren't bad, but ... just not the same. I will wait a week or two for them to get up to speed and try again.

Bob Lewis would have been delighted Sunday because Fr. Bill presided at Mass. He loves his homilies and so do I. However, Deacon Bill gave the homily. Not that he doesn't do a fine job but ... it isn't the same. We heard about the evils of self pride and Deacon Bill did a great job in getting his point across, hitting a few nerves, at least in me. I immediately thought of me last week being "Proud as Punch" about my grandkids. As a matter of fact, Dominick had emailed, wanting to know the origins of the term. I had to "google" it and found that it was originally a derogatory term referring to the character in the English "Punch & Judy" shows. Punch was an obnoxious know-it-all who was full of himself (self-pride) and very abusive to Judy. You simply could not get more proud than Punch was of himself. In my defense, I must tell you that if I find at the end of the week, I have not made a mistake, I make one on purpose just to stay humble. Seriously, ... as I grow older, I find that I am far from superior to anyone and need all the help I can get. Hell, ... I can't even screw in a light bulb!

Sunday evening I decided to venture out to Ashford House for dinner. Roast leg of lamb was my choice, served with dressing, gravy, steamed carrots and mashed potatoes. Of course there was the basket of warm dinner rolls, all preceded by a relaxing libation and a salad. I also treated myself to some creamy vanilla ice cream. It was quite a contrast to the meal of a couple days previous. Sure, it was three times the cost but I ate more than twice the food and took home a generous amount for dinner on Tuesday. (I am spoiled!)

I have been fascinated with the people I have found while delving into the early settlers of the Copeland line of ancestors. I have found Lawrence Copeland, Lydia Townsend, John Bass, Ruth Alden, John Alden, Pricilla Mullins, John Bent, Martha Blanchard, Thomas Bourne, Elizabeth Rouse, Thomas Besbedge, Anne Baseden, John Fuller, Elizabeth Farrington, Thomas Trowbridge, Elizabeth Marshall, Humphrey Atherton, and Margaret (Mary) Wales ... all ancestors of David Copeland who were the first in their families to arrive on these shores. I selected him as the starting point because he was the one in our line who was born before the American revolution and became the first US citizen of our Copeland line when the nation was established. Of some of these families, little is known and some were quite prominent before and after their arrival here. One claims to be able to trace the family line to Robert de Atherton who lived in the time of King John 1199–1216 another to Charlemagne the Great through his mother's line. This last gentleman is said to have among his descendants Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Ernest Hemmingway, and US President Rutherford B. Hayes. Of some we only know of their children but of others there are important deeds and accomplishments.

One family named the last six of their twelve children ...Rest, Increase, Thankful, Hope, Watching, and Patience. I could not resist thinking that their mother said, "Lord give us Rest and have us Increase no more, but we will be Thankful as we Hope, Watching with Patience for the end. With that, I invite you to visit The Copeland Mayflower Connection. There you can read about all of them, see the ancestor tree that leads to them and visit other web pages that tell you mare than I recorded as well as introducing you to some of my source materials. I am grateful to those who did the original research and recorded their findings on their web pages.

What does all this mean to us? First of all, considering that these people are only a small part of our heritage, (for every generation of ancestry, the number of ancestors doubles) it means that the people who have contributed to our genes are extremely diverse. We can see that they all did "their thing" in building the world they lived in, contributing to progress in a positive way. For some the contribution was hardly noticeable, at least from our point of view, and for others their efforts were notable. But even for the less notable individual, their lives were a solid contribution to the growth of their families and the nation. We can learn from them all that what each of us does has an influence on our families, friends and even those we casually touch.

Does the fact that we may be a descendant of the great and famous, such as Charlemagne make us special? No more than being a descendant of John Fuller does. Does the fact that we have common ancestors with Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Ernest Hemmingway, and US President Rutherford B. Hayes enhance us in any way? Not at all except to tell us that we all have potential to do exceptional things.

In genealogy there are several types of family trees. There are ancestor trees which diagram those who precede an individual. There are descendant trees which diagram those who follow after an individual. In both cases, for every generation, the number of people at the next level doubles. And then there is an hourglass tree, a combination of the two. Each one of us is at the narrowest point of the hourglass tree, being the result of the multitude of people who have contributed in some way to our existence. For some of us the lower half has begun to blossom and for other it is only a possibility but it is nonetheless a sacred responsibility to our successors. We are all expected to share what has been given to us with those who follow.

It is noteworthy to consider that the people who I have described as our Mayflower Connections lived in a time of fragile sailing ships, horse drawn wagons and relatively primitive tools and living conditions. Through the generations they progressed to steam ships, railroads, the industrial revolution, automobiles, the dawn of electricity, and to all the marvels of modern conveniences and luxuries of our time. It does not end with us! Marvels to come are beyond our imagination and beyond our lifetimes. It is for us to contribute positively to this progress.

At the same time we must remember that we were created by God as was the universe in which we live. He created us to to use our evolving intellect in a positive manner to protect and improve the world. We are not limited, however to material improvements. They can, if shared with others and used wisely, be an asset to us. We are also expected to remember the source of our newly found gifts and to be ever more grateful to God for providing the raw material in the first place. We are, beyond a doubt, co-creators with Him. He gave us these gifts, entrusting us to care for them and each other as we build a better world. We need only to look at our ancestor trees to see how transient this life is and how short is our duration here. We must make the best of it. In doing so, it is good to note that we do not own anything but are merely stewards of  what we possess, given these things to use wisely and to share ... either now ... or after we die. The only thing we can take out of this world is the love of God. That is the one thing that we can not posses to excess.

The Albano family closed their above ground pool over a week ago, all snug with it's winter chemicals and winter cover. But ... the cover was sinking lower and lower in the pool and it was soon apparent that the water was leaking slowly from the pool. Not what you want to see. With the cover removed, Joe took the plunge into the now very cold water. An old patch on the bottom had reopened but was soon repaired. Water and chemicals replenished, all is well again and the pool will survive for at least another season.

I took another step in the surrender to fall by shutting down my sprinkler system for the year. My maple trees are a brilliant red but there are still flowers blooming beneath them. One afternoon a light jacket was all that was required to enjoy some time in the gazebo with the lower angel of the sun coming in to warm me. 

The above are the birthdays for the past week.

Here are a couple that follow this weekend:

To my son and his two daughters as well as my brother - in law, I wish a happy birthday and many more.

The predicted rain didn't materialize on Halloween and the little goblins, princes and pirates were making their rounds. There was a time when I hated the little "visitors" ( I would use a different term), letting other family members tend to the door or even "working late" to avoid having them disturb me. They were an interruption to my precious privacy! Just think, ... I could have continued my selfish ways and after Anne died become the neighborhood grouch. I thank God for not letting that happen. And thankfully the change occurred, gradually at first, while Anne was still with me to appreciate it. Halloween is now one of my favorite holidays and I look forward to giving these little, and some not so little, costumed visitors their treats, seeing the glee and sometimes wonder in their eyes. I hope you had as great a Halloween as I did. I have found that when you get closer to God, He gets closer to you and draws you closer to what realy matters. By the way, if you would like to know how this grouchy curmudgeon changed his attitude visit "Born Again" , chapter 15 of "How I became Grandpa Don".

Thursday evening I went to Dan & Karen's to join them in celebrating the Birthdays. As noted above it was a combined celebration for Dan, Kelsey and Ana. This weekend they will be split up due to the girls' sport events. Ana displayed her Grissum Middle School trophy for being the MVP in cross country running. She habitually comes in first in her events. I have just been casting aside the sports section of the paper thinking my grandkids (boys) are not involved in anything during the current season. As a result, I did not see the article in which Kelsey had been named as a qualifier in the Illinois High School Association's Cross Country Championship. As a result she will be going with her team to Peoria this weekend for the meet at Detweiller park. Since she is going as an alternate, Dan and Karen are taking Ana to St. Louis to see Ana play in a soccer championship event.

As for Thursday, Karen went to pick up Kelsey at school after practice as Dan came home from work and then we all went to pick up Ana from her soccer practice and then went on to Gatto's for an Italian repast. They met a couple former neighbors there and I got to say hello to my friend, the mayor of Tinley park. We all got to enjoy a great meal ... I had Veal Parmigianino and finished it all ... except for the pasta. We returned to Dan's for a bite of ice cream cake after which I went home filled, tired and very satisfied.

It was a good week ... but then it is hard to remember a bad one.