Living for Centuries -- Vicariously By J.P. Sherman I stopped to visit my elderly parents, who were still in good enough health to maintain their own home. My first order of business was to share my latest genealogy findings with my mother who always enjoyed listening to details of our family history. My nearly 90-year-old father, an unassuming man from the "old school," looked up from the game of solitaire he was playing and remarked to me, "Why do you bother with that genealogy stuff? Those people are all dead and gone." "Well," I replied, nodding to the cards he had laid out on the table before him, "it doesn't have all the intrinsic value of a good game of solitaire, but I like it. He thought for a moment and then said, "No, really, why do you bother with it? "I'll tell you why," I answered. "With all that you learn in the process -- the history, the greater perspective on life and all, it's like you get to live three hundred years -- but without all the aches and pains." My father reflected on my answer for a moment and then remarked (apparently satisfied with the reason given for my genealogical passion), "You know, I'll bet that would be interesting!"