----- Original Message ----- From: <Debbylafs@cs.com> To: <kdcool1@hotmail.com>; <DailyRacing@aol.com>; <carob@tc3net.com>; <aturner@tdi.net> Sent: Thursday, September 14, 2000 12:42 AM Subject: (no subject) > Here goes: > > Are You a Genealogist? > > wide-brimmed hat to ward off ___ > sun and rain in cemeteries.../ \ > ---------------- > trifocal glasses..............| 0^0 |.......pious expression for > dust mask....................(|-----|) begging documents from > sticky tongue from.............\---/ distant relatives > licking stamps |-| > -----| |----- > bent back from bending..../\ \ \-/ / /\ /8|--|..coffee mug that > over documents / || o ||\ \ / 8|__| says "I Brake > muscular right arm....../ /||| |o| ||| \ \ /0/ for Cemeteries" > from cranking / / |||_|o|_|||: \ \/ /: > microfilm readers / / || o || : \ / :watch (to make sure you > carpal tunnel......../ / |/ o \| : \/ have time before the > syndrome / / | o |: : library closes to check > inky hands.......__/--/ oooo======| : : one more reference) > writer's cramp....//// :UUUU \_| : :vest with pedigree chart on > : | /\ |: : back for others to read > coin changer for photocopy: | || | : :shirt with large pockets > machines and the lockers | || | : for pens, cards, etc. > at the National Archives /---\/---\ : > | || | :wallet and checkbook (you can > knee pads for finding........\---/\---/ afford genealogy because you > books on low shelves | || | don't spend your salary on > | || | food, clothing, or shelter) > bottom of jogging outfit......| || | > (recycled: who has /--/--||--\--\ > time to jog?) \--\__||__/--/....hiking shoes or duck boots > > Large backpack with many pockets: > > file folders or 3-ring binder with charts, blank forms, > Soundex quick reference card > acid-free page protectors > pens and pencils of various colors > business cards, notepad, index cards, envelopes, stamps, stapler > flashlight for finding skeletons in closets > flowers and chocolates for enticing elderly relatives into revealing > family stories and letting you copy their old photos > tape recorder for interviewing relatives, plus cassettes of interviews > and favorite songs: The Great Historical Bum, I'm My Own Grandpaw, > Dem Bones, Grandfather's Clock, Don't Know Much About History > scribbled notes from relatives > portable computer, cellular telephone, modem > calculator for figuring out dates/ages > portable photocopier > shredder for mail from Bath, Ohio > peanut butter sandwiches, fig bars, bananas, coffee thermos, juice packs > aspirin or ibuprofen, allergy tablets, eyedrops > magnifying glass (with light) > tombstone tools: brush, trowel, chalk, shaving cream, jug of water, > camera with black-and-white film, rice paper for making impressions > maps - topographic, historical, aerial photos > old photograph collections > English-ancestral language dictionaries > large box of tissues for crying when you learn you have been chasing > the wrong family (line) for three years > folding chair to use in courthouses that don't believe in chairs > satchel for things that don't fit in the backpack > > economical car that gets about 50 miles to the gallon (license plate > says ROOTS) > > > Possible backgrounds: > a cemetery, a library of old dusty books, > a courthouse record room, a church office, a newspaper's morgue, etc. > A group of distrustful relatives. :( > perhaps like the pitchfork family (Grant Wood's American Gothic) -- > holding "root" vegetables -- beets, carrots, rutabegas, etc. > or cemetary plot in background with unique gravestones - RIP, > interesting crosses, civil war or revolutionary war stones, etc. > or a closet of skeletons :) > >