Dear NOT ME @ NOT There, Yes, you did burst my bubble...there is a sucker born every day...and today was my day! I got so much enjoyment in being sent my family surname crest that I wanted to share to with all of you...the ones that share my love of family ancestry! The younger generation didn't grow up hearing the saying," If you can't say something nice ,don't say anything at all," Or the verse, "do on to others as you would have them do on to you." But...what you said was probably 100% correct! I too, had read and bought "MY Family History" from a kiosks in the mall. Our history said our VIVONAs all came from BIVONA Sicily! I have yet to find a single VIVONA from there. I have talked to VIVONAS in Trapani, and Canada and Australia and Flordia, New Jersey, Nevada...not one VIVONA ancestor has come from Bivona! Before, I ordered this family crest, I too, thought, these Vivonas that wanted an opportunity for a better life for their children probably didn't come over to America bearing a VIVONA Coat of Arms! Our Vivona ancestor left his 6 brothers and his parents and all his relatives! They were hard working and from what relatives have told me, and a little 'bitter' that their home country held no future for them. I don't think the VIVONA shoemaker put little family crests on all the shoes he made nor did the VIVONA carpenter burn the crest on the cabinets he made! They wanted their children that they brought with them from Sicily and the ones that they birthed in ! the US to speak English and be American! They wanted their children to have the freedom of CHOICE... Which brings me to this: I made the CHOICE to order and receive the VIVONA family crest. A computer may have randomly chosen it for me. As "POLLYANNA" as it sounds, I usually choose to look for the good in circumstances such as this one....the crest that was sent to me bearing our family name had a knight's helmet & shield- as a parents shields his family from the evils of this world; a star- whether you go to sleep in Sicily or the US we all fall asleep under one starry sky at night and the crest that was sent to me had an olive branch- a symbol of PEACE: Peace be with you... I could be cross stitching a pattern of flowers in Italy in a couple weeks...but I Choose to cross stitch on what someone says is my VIVONA family crest...and I choose for it to still bring me joy!Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com

On 19 May 2002 21:25:55 -0600, HeyItsDebV@msn.com (Deborah Vivona) wrote: >I could be cross stitching a pattern of flowers in Italy in a couple weeks...but I Choose to cross stitch on what someone says is my VIVONA family crest...and I choose for it to still bring me joy! > Of course you have a perfect right to do as you choose, and I support that. I think that others, myself included, have a perfect right to alert those who may not be experienced enough to know that Genealogy is an area where crooks and charlatans hide around many corners waiting to take people's hard earned money. Of course you know that, having told us that you have delt with these types in the past. So while I apologised in advance for bursting anyone's bubble, I don't think you can say that I damaged yours at all. Personally, I find genealogy one of the most pleasurable and rewarding things I can be involved in as a member of the human race. My bubble, if you will, consists of the absolute joy in locating the marriage record of another set of 7th or 8th great grandparents; perhaps meeting someone on line, comparing notes then finding that the person is an actual relative; meeting a fellow researcher and learning that they can add another generation to one of my lines, or I can add to their work. The absolute joys in my bubble are so real, so tangible, that I can't even imagine being happy dealing with fraud. I would suggest that you could take any money you may be tempted to blow in the future and buy a couple of bags of groceries for a needy family as a memorial to your ancestors. Also, if the crest thing is so important to you, then take some elements from your families history and make your own. Get some help from a commercial artist or other professional if you need it. The result would be real, something made by an actual family member (you) and that you could be proud of and share with others in the family. Frank F.