: >this is making the rounds of some other groups and thought I'd pass it along . . . : > Jennifer : > : >GRANDMA AND THE FAMILY TREE : > : > There's been a change in Grandma, we've noticed her of late, : > She's always reading history or jotting down some date. : > She's tracking back the family, we'll all have pedigrees. : > Oh, Grandma's got a hobby, she's climbing Family Trees. : > : > Poor Grandpa does the cooking and now, or so he states, : > That worst of all, he has to wash the cups and dinner plates. : > Grandma can't be bothered, she's busy as a bee : > Compiling genealogy - for the Family Tree. : > : > She has no time to baby-sit, the curtains are a fright, : > No buttons left on Grandad's shirt, the flower bed's a sight. : > She's given up her club work, the serials on TV, : > The only thing she does nowadays is climb the Family Tree. : > : > She goes down to the courthouse and studies ancient lore, : > We know more about our forebears than we ever knew before. : > The books are old and dusty, they make poor Grandma sneeze, : > A minor irritation when you're climbing Family Trees. : > : > The mail is all for Grandma, it comes from near and far, : > Last week she got the proof she needs to join the DAR. : > A worthwhile avocation, to that we all agree, : > A monumental project, to climb the Family Tree. : > : > Now some folks came from Scotland and some from Galway Bay, : > Some were French as pastry, some German, all the way. : > Some went on west to stake their claim, some stayed near by the sea, : > Grandma hopes to find them all as she climbs the Family Tree. : > : > She wanders through the graveyard in search of date or name, : > The rich, the poor, the in-between, all sleeping there the same. : > She pauses now and then to rest, fanned by a gentle breeze : > That blows above the Fathers of all our Family Trees. : > : > There were pioneers and patriots mixed in our kith and kin : > Who blazed the paths of wilderness and fought through thick and thin. : > But none more staunch than Grandma, whose eyes light up with glee : > Each time she finds a missing branch for the Family Tree. : > : > Their skills were wide and varied, from carpenter to cook : > And one (Alas!) the record shows was hopelessly a crook. : > Blacksmith, weaver, farmer, judge, some tutored for a fee, : > Long lost in time, now all recorded on the Family Tree. : > : > To some it's just a hobby, to Grandma it's much more, : > She knows the joys and heartaches of those who went before. : > They loved, they lost, they laughed, they wept, and now for you and me : > They live again in spirit, around the Family Tree. : > : > At last she's nearly finished and we are each exposed. : > Life will be the same again, this we all supposed! : > Grandma will cook and sew, serve cookies with our tea. : > We'll all be fat, just as before that wretched Family Tree. : > : > Sad to relate, the Preacher called and visited for a spell, : > We talked about the Gospel, and other things as well, : > The heathen folk, the poor and then - 'twas fate, it had to be, : > Somehow the conversation turned to Grandma and the Family Tree. : > : > We tried to change the subject, we talked of everything : > But then in Grandma's voice we heard that old familiar ring. : > She told him all about the past and soon was plain to see : > The preacher, too, was nearly snared by Grandma and the Family Tree. : > : > He never knew his Grandpa, his mother's name was ... Clark? : > He and Grandma talked and talked, outside it grew quite dark. : > We'd hoped our fears were groundless, but just like some disease, : > Grandma's become an addict - she's hooked on Family Trees! : > : > Our souls were filled with sorrow, our hearts sank with dismay, : > Our ears could scarce believe the words we heard our Grandma say, : > "It sure is a lucky thing that you have come to me, : > I know exactly how it's done, I'll climb your Family Tree!" : > : > Author Unknown --------- End forwarded message ----------