The Quest

Today was a beautiful day in Albany. The sun was radiant, the few clouds withheld rain, and a swift breeze cooled the air... a perfect day for a walk through Albany Rural Cemetery. Many times, I have tried to photograph entire sections of the cemetery. Today, however, I wandered through taking photos of Celtic crosses and checking here and there for headstones that haven't been added to Find-a-Grave. There are many of both. One memorial in particular caught my eye today... a unique carving of stones, draped with roses and calla lilies, topped with a cross and anchor. It belonged to a young woman named Hettie Ten Eyck. The Ten Eyck name always catches my eye because that was the surname of the woman who worked in the communication office at FUMC Grapevine before me. That, in combination with the stunning headstone and the fact that she died on my birth date (87 years earlier), made me curious about Hettie and the life she led. I thought the anchor was interesting and won...

I've often wondered whether the technology effect is good or bad. By the technology effect I mean the fact that you can readily find information on just about anything online, and you can use your devices for almost everything. For the most part, I love it. What I don't love is the fact that I don't seem to really know things anymore. I rely on Google to give me answers to my questions, my digital calendar to remind me of appointments, my phone to wake me up and do basic math, Facebook to tell me when there's a birthday and remind me what I was doing at this time last year. Growing up, my parents always encouraged us to find answers to our questions. Any time we asked them something, they'd say, "Look it up." What they really meant was that we should consult an encyclopedia or a dictionary. We had about four different sets of encyclopedias (maybe five?), which are now sorely out-dated. I miss looking things up in a book. Searching for subjects in Funk...

I spent this afternoon in Troy, the Collar City. It is so named because of the detachable collars that were first imagined and then manufactured there. The purpose of my visit was primarily to visit the campus of the Emma Willard School for a job interview. Emma Willard was a pioneer in education for women, and felt there was no reason women could not be as well-educated as men. She was right. Over 200 years ago, she started a school for women and it is still going strong (although it has moved locations over time). The campus is stunning, and the staff are friendly and engaging. In addition to the advancement of education for women, Troy was also the home of Kate Mullany, the first woman to organize a labor union. She was a young Irish immigrant who took issue with the dangerous conditions and low wages paid to laundresses who washed and ironed the detachable collars Troy was known for. Kate organized her co-workers into the Collar Laundry Union in 1864. After my intervi...

When I was visiting the Horn-Eldred family last weekend, the end of my visit was punctuated with a much-anticipated geode smash. I have never had an unopened geode, much less participated in the process of breaking one open. Apparently this is something that Emma has done often, and each time she hopes for an interesting color other than white. When Emma took a hammer and broke the stone open, it was indeed filled with white crystals. Although that's not what she'd hoped for, they're beautiful nonetheless. I was gifted with this part of the stone... This entire experience got me to wondering... what gives a geode its color? The answer, I've found, is that it's the composition of minerals in the stone. Most are filled with white quartz. Sometimes you'll see brightly-colored geodes, but the brightness of color generally means it has been artificially colored. Certain minerals can contribute colors like blue, purple, pink or green but these are rare. You ca...

I've been working on a new brochure for the Troy Irish Genealogy Society . In the process, I've been looking at old photos of Troy. This city is one of the most interesting ones in this area, in my opinion. Looking at the skyline from the Hudson River is like stepping back in time. The church spires tower above a crowded matrix of row houses and historical 19th century buildings. It looks much like this, even today. View of Troy from Mount Ida (I think) This afternoon, I was going over to Troy to register for a drawing class at the Arts Center of the Capital Region , a gift from Kef. As I was sitting at the stop light to turn right onto River Street, my eyes were drawn to the Market Block building rising up at the corner of River and Fulton. The light changed, so I couldn't take a photo, but you can see it here on a Google Map street view . This amazing structure is characteristic of many buildings in the Central Troy Historic District . The Wikipedia article on this...

Okay, name that movie quote. (I mean the movie from whence this title came.) I was really just going to call this post "Grab Bag" because it's about a random bunch of things. But since it's about things in nature, Darwin's Grab Bag sounded better. I digress before I even get started. Let me 'splain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up. (Name that movie quote too! I'm on a roll. Spoiler alert: movie answers are at the end of this post.) It all started yesterday when I was eating lunch on the deck, soaking up some sun and making use of Kef's new patio dining set. As I was about to take a bite of my sandwich, something flew past my face and landed on my hand. If it was a bug, I would have flung it off immediately, even if I had to sacrifice my sandwich. But it was just a little piece of white fluff. No big deal. Then, the little piece of white fluff started to walk away. Literally. I thought I was imagining it at first, but I took a closer look and f...

Shannon and I used to write notes to each other during class. (Yes, we were in college. What's your point? Note-writing didn't die in Junior High.) We had a lot of little sayings that we'd use in regular conversation, and many of them required a certain tone of voice in order for you to get their true intent. When writing rather than talking, we'd put "tov" in parenthesis when using one of these words or phrases. That was my signal to him that I wasn't actually asking "Really?" but being sarcastic... Really? (tov) In other words, read those words with the tone of voice you know I'd be using if we were talking. There are so many uses for tov. "I'm winning (tov)" is different than "I'm winning." I can't remember now all the phrases we added tov to (Shannon probably can... I wish I had those notes handy so I could look back). But there are many times when I'm writing that I feel the compulsion to add tov. ...

This morning, I closely followed the progress of a particularly dedicated ant, hauling another dead ant away. I can only assume that the live ant was taking the dead ant back to the nest. It made me wonder why. Is this a military ant... never leave a fallen comrade? Or a teacher ant... no ant left behind? At one point, the live ant dropped the dead ant and appeared to be having trouble regaining her hold (I've read that all ants are female... is that true?). So, I took a stick and flipped the dead ant so that she would be more easily carried. Luckily, Live Ant was then able to get a better grip on Dead Ant and they continued on. While this was going on, the dogs were having great fun wrestling all over the place. I asked them nicely to not wrestle over the ant, and certainly not to step on her as she's making such a valiant effort. She tripped over rocks and climbed grass and dodged dogs. Live Ant was a super-hero ant. When I searched Google for more information on the tr...

I was reading an article in Smithsonian today about the use of cartoon characters by various entities to promote awareness of safety practices. The primary topic was related to Smokey Bear and how his message of fire prevention has become a problem over time. The extreme focus on fire prevention has largely eliminated even the good fires that allow the forest to thrive and avoid catastrophic fires. In recent years, Smokey's tag line was changed from, "Only you can prevent forest fires," to, "Only you can prevent wildfires." But some are saying he should be retired altogether. I don't really agree... I love that bear. In the same article, though, there was an info-graphic that explored other characters from times past. One that was of particular interest to me was Bert the Turtle. How many of you know who Bert was? I'm guessing many of the younger folks don't. I had heard of his message - "Duck and Cover" - but I'd never heard of Bert ...

I never recall seeing fireflies in Texas. I'm sure there probably are some, but perhaps I always lived in the city or in the dry plains where they don't thrive. This being my first summer in New York, I'm enjoying the play of fireflies in the yard at night. Kef says this is her favorite time of year... fireflies in Mason Wood, stars shining bright in the heavens. I wondered today why fireflies glow, and so I read a little bit about their biochemical phosphorescence. The purpose is to attract a mate, as is most of nature's over-the-top display of light and color, it seems. I didn't realize fireflies were in the beetle family, but looking at them in the daylight I can see the resemblance. One thing I have found is that it is almost impossible to catch a good picture of fireflies... but artwork captures the spirit. "Fireflies in the Night"   by  eliz.avery  is licensed under  CC BY-NC 2.0 

When I go to a cemetery to take photographs, I'm always drawn to the headstones of the people who seem forgotten. In Albany Rural Cemetery , there are many, many forgotten ones. I have taken pictures of quite a few headstones there that have not yet been added to Find-a-Grave (most of the cemetery is well-documented there). It makes me wonder if they have any family out there, anyone looking for a record of their life. It's sobering to think that one day all that may be left of your life is a solitary headstone in a single plot with no family around you. I spent a fair bit of time on Saturday uploading pictures, adding new entries, and trying to find out if the person in question was forgotten, or had family to remember them. When I see a person's headstone with no inscription and no fanfare, it makes me wonder if they were impoverished or if they had no one to give care to the creation of a headstone that reflected their life. Take this one, for example: It's a...

I've been mulling over "ought-to's" today. You know... things you ought to do, ought to want, ought to be. I ought to get out of bed. I ought to take a shower. I ought to have a job by now. I ought to care about career goals (like titles, and making more money, and not "regressing"). I ought to read more. I ought to do more with my talents. I ought to be doing more things I love with every single day while I have time. I ought to have this transcription project done by now. I ought to walk the dogs. I ought to write a book. I ought to draw. I ought to pay more attention to my budget. I ought to be saving for retirement. I've used ought so many times it doesn't even look like a real word anymore. When I brought some of my job-related ought-to's to my sister's attention, she asked, "Why? Do any of the people in your life care about those things?" Well, no. But I ought to. When I think about some of the ought-to's on my list, I...

This morning I was watching a series of TED talks on diversity in preparation for an interview at an organization that provides training on workplace diversity and inclusion. As I was absorbing these words of wisdom, I began to reflect on my own circle of influence (which includes you, dear reader). This brought me to my trusty friends list on Facebook. What I found was that most of us share a very similar demographic. There are a few from other countries, a few from other races, but the vast majority are people very similar to me. We share the same culture, and similar backgrounds... on the surface. Yet when I think of each person on that list, I think of what makes them unique. I am reminded how we first met. Some I was born into knowing. Some I've known since Kindergarten. Some I met literally yesterday. Some speak a different language than me (some more than one). Some I've never met in person (though most I have). Some have a very unique family lineage, and others don...

I've often wondered if I could manage to write a blog post every day. There are a lot of people these days who monetize their blogs and make good money becoming influencers. I don't know about the influencing, or the monetizing actually... but I do think it would be a good habit to write every day. This is not a new concept and has been taught by many, including our favorite Dr. Cindy Ryan , who has given us all the tools we need to be an every-day journaler. I have failed miserably. I see the value, and I have the desire... but I have not been faithful with daily writing. If I can't be faithful in personal journaling, how in the world would I be successful writing a daily blog? I suppose, like anything, you have to make it a habit. I've often heard that it takes a month to build a habit. Google now tells me it's more like 66 days, on average. Either way, I have been an every-day writer for at least that long at times in my life. And yet, I still fell out of the...

As I was waiting for my turn to speak, I wondered what I could possibly say that would be insightful to a room full of senior public relations professionals. The question: What do you do every day that helps you in your PR work? Some talked about making lists, setting goals, re-prioritizing, following trends, news, and scholarly work. Others centered themselves, drank coffee. Since I'm not working right now, what could I possibly say? When it came my turn to speak, I nailed my thoughts down and said, "Diversify my reading." I explained that I read about things I don't know, to which I've never been exposed. We can glean so much from other disciplines, and often we learn things that can apply to challenges in our own organizations. For several months, I've been preparing for interviews at organizations that do things I've never done before. Each cover letter is a practice in applying my experience to a new field. Each interview involves imagining myself i...

As I've been working on the Payne family tree, I got to a point where I knew there were some newspaper clippings on Newspapers.com that might provide some source information. I don't maintain a subscription, but I decided to buy one month to get the information I needed. First I purchased just the basic subscription, but the newspapers I wanted were not included. So I decided to upgrade, but there was no information about how to upgrade without paying the full amount for premium... so I thought I was going to be stuck paying the basic PLUS the premium. I sent an email to their customer support and within 48 hours, I'd been refunded! So, that's reason #1 to love Newspapers.com. Very responsive and didn't give me grief. Reason #2 though is... just NEWSPAPERS. I just love how old newspapers used to tell you every detail about a person's life. Like what the bridesmaids wore in the wedding. Or who was visiting from out of town for the weekend. Or who threw a party ...

My Great Aunt Myrna Elva [Mason] Winters was single as long as I knew her. Of course, I knew that she was once married, because her last name wasn't Mason anymore. But I was only 7 years old when she died... so "widow" and "single" meant the same thing to me. What was mysterious about Myrna, though, was that after her death we found out she had been married before. In her jewelry box, my aunt Melinda found letters and a wedding announcement. She was married to Raymond Harvey Derrick sometime in the 1920's (the announcement didn't have a date). Back in 2009, I took Melinda's Myrna notebook home. It contains pictures, letters and newspaper clippings. It seems that R. H. Derrick maintained his communication with Myrna's parents for years after they must have divorced. I haven't found any record of a divorce (those records are not available online). I would just like to know about that marriage. What happened? Why didn't anyone talk abo...

I haven't watched many movies lately. It's a cold, overcast day outside... and I saw Billy Crystal talking about the 25th anniversary of The Princess Bride last night... so I decided to pull out The Princess Bride and watch it at least once today. To my horror, when I opened up my movie cabinet, everything was out of order! Not sure how that happened... but now that I've rectified the situation, I'm wondering... what does your movie library say about you? Me? I think mine says I like happy endings. Most of the time. Here's my library... what movie(s) should I add? A Mighty Wind Alex & Emma The Day After Tomorrow Down With Love Elf Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Failure to Launch Fern Gully Fifty First Dates Glee (Season 1) Hairspray He Said, She Said Hitch The Holiday Just Like Heaven IQ The Lake House The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Love Actually Lucky Seven Matchmaker Mona Lisa Smile Moulin Rou...

I follow several blogs. It took me a while to get into the world of reading others' instead of just writing my own and leaving them out there with no audience. I still have no audience, but I'm doing better at becoming a part of someone else's. I've just come across a new blogger to follow... Stacy Bias. One of her recent posts relates indirectly to my last post on Keeping Quiet . It's entitled "Insecurity: Imperfect & Unforgiven." Well-written and oh-so-how-I-feel sometimes. Insecurity: Imperfect & Unforgiven I want to talk about insecurity. Actually, I want to openly claim insecurity. I want to wear it like a badge instead of an anchor. I want to acknowledge that it has made me paranoid at times. At others, self-absorbed. I want to erase the shame in it. keep reading...

I haven't blogged in a long time, but there was a news report that's getting some attention around here that has started me thinking. A news article aired yesterday about Dr. Ed Young, pastor of Fellowship Church in Grapevine. The report charges that he is taking advantage of his position at Fellowship by being too wealthy, using a private jet, and engaging in business transactions outside of Fellowship using the church's resources. See the video and read the article here. I don't attend church at Fellowship and I don't know Ed Young or his heart for ministry. What I do know is that apparently thousands of people who worship there think the world of him. (And, by the way, I don't consider Fellowship the "competition" - we are all partners in ministering to the Grapevine community.) What I also know is that it's very difficult for pastors and other Christians to answer this question: How much is enough? Or the flipside: How much is too much? Who...