Last night, I happened across a program called Moments in Time that covers different historical events. This one happened to be the Irish Famine and I wish I'd seen all of it. Out of ignorance, I always thought the Irish left to escape the famine. I had no idea that they were actually forced out in many cases. I didn't know about the deadly marches from the rural areas to the ports and I didn't know that the British yanked the Irish out of their homes, destroying the house so that they couldn't return to it. I knew about workhouses but not that they were, for all intents and purposes, a means to work the Irish like slaves in exchange for watery soup. I didn't know about the pestilance and disease that workhouses fostered and how many Irish men, women, and children died there. When I learned that a million had died and another million had been forced by the need to survive to seek a new life away from Ireland, it gave me a whole new view of my ancestors. I'd been wondering why only the two brothers came to the States. Now I know that it's possible they were the only survivors of their family. I've always been proud of my Irish heritage but never as much as I feel now. Those two brothers created a legacy that they probably never realized they had...pride in their courage, pride in their strength, pride in the fact that I carry their name, pride in knowing that I...and the rest of you on this list...are making certain that they won't be forgotten. Okay. Sunday sermon's over. Just had to put it out there. Chris 2nd great granddaughter of Patrick Sullivan 2nd great grandniece of Jeremiah Sullivan