Afternoon all, Well I have arrived back home in the wee hours from a fruitless fishin trip. Now it is true that most of the time I do not get bent out of shape over not catching anything, and very true my philosophy is that it is more about fishing than about catching fish....but the fact is that after a while it gets a wee bit old...and we have gone through a drought season and the fish have not been friendly for too long a time. Lest you think this sob story has nothing to do with genealogy, let me assure you it most definitely DOES. I tell you they were hitting NOTHING, not artificial bait, not worms, not livers, not gizzards, not catfish bait, NOTHING. Nothing was drawing them to our boat, not lights, not canned corn, NOTHING. Since I tore up our trolling motor (never mind THAT story...trust me), we did not have the luxury of that tool. I told my husband when we got home he needed to get down on his back and wiggle under that boat and look up and see had someone painted a sign saying, "Hey Fish!!! Warning!!! Eddie is after you!!!!" cause I tell you those fish know these days when we are coming and they make sure they are not home. Goes that way in genealogy too....long dry spells and you make noooo contacts, not using queries, or lists, or surname postings or much of anything. And you get to wondering if all your grandpas at some point in reality were mutations from the trees or descended from a UFO. We've talked about that from time to time, and told each other stories about our "miracles" that occurred out of the blue to encourage each other. Most of us who have been doing this long, have also learned that it seems to come and go in cycles... suddenly there is manna from heaven and we seem to be getting more information than we can possibly log in...and then just as suddenly dries up. So that line of conversation we have followed... But what I am thinking on now are the words my husband was spouting while I was getting frustrated tonight...now see if this doesn't sound like a "lin e" LOL!!! (and pun intended) to you.... "well whether we catch anything or not, I am just going to enjoy this lovely peaceful night with my lovely wife!" LOL!!!! (I tell ya that man will say anything to stay out on the boat another hour or so...he also said "they tell me, they don't start bitin till about midnight!" LOL!!!!) Anyway, when you really think on it though, (and he really did mean a lot of it! He loves being out on the peaceful water)..... if you get your mind off the fact you have not reeled in a fish for months, the night WAS lovely. The trees on the mountains around us dark and velvety, and the tops of them a faint lacy dark edge bordering the deep blue of the sky...the moon a big shiny dinner plate hung over all and sending glimmering light to dance on a still water...the sound of the crickets and the whipporwills and out so far not a sound of a passing car...yes, it really WAS lovely, and worth the experience, fish or no fish. Well, maybe that is what a list can be too.... not the same kind of lovely perhaps, but whether you are reeling in any fish or not, still a wonderful experience. Many of us enjoy the company of the list, the good humor, the stories told, and the memories shared, the collective grouping of descendents of the settlers of Stewart Co. or Dickson or anywhere in the DC area ....and maybe, just maybe....that is really a whole lot of what it is about. Maybe on the list too, it isn't so much about catching anything...it is about the pleasure of the company...and fishing! Have a great day! jan