Trish asks: === Does any one know what has happened to Pete our expert on Irish maps === Trish, I'm here, but I haven't seen many queries to which I felt qualified - or which remained - to answer. Many reasons, I suppose, for that. The traffic on the lists has been very light. The few questions regarding geography have often been answered by others using Google maps, etc. before I am able to reply (I'm on the digest form of all of my lists, so others often respond before I even see the original request). That's fine - I don't feel "slighted" by that.....and it gives me time for other things [gr]. Google maps don't really work well with my slow dial-up connection in any case, and I've never felt a need for them. I still get a number of off-list inquiries to keep life interesting. The "interesting life" has kept me occupied (and pre-occupied) all summer. Once Dad hit his 100th birthday on July 7th (the rest of the family converged on the Buffalo - western NY state - area where my parents live, for the event), he seemed to have reached a realization that life is finite, after all. Within days, he had a protracted series of TIAs (transient ischemic attacks) and had more "bad days" than good ones. Mom looked after him as well as she could, and I stayed with them for several weeks during this period. My daughter could see continuing problems with their situation and offered to have them come live with her (just a few miles from me, here, in western Mass.). They agreed. Dad felt uncomfortable driving at his age and, living alone together at home, they were frequently on the road for shopping, visiting friends, etc. My parents realized that their life would be much simpler and relaxed if they moved-in to my daughter's house (I don't have any room in my house). My daughter started preparing an unused ground-floor room for them to stay, and I remained in Buffalo with them while the room was evolving. After a couple of weeks, it was time. My daughter made the 700-mile round-trip from her home and returned there with my parents along. I remained in Buffalo while movers loaded all of the major furniture to take to my daughter's house. I have been driving back-and-forth frequently (one trip with a large box truck), to move other belongings. All in all, my daughter and grandson and myself have moved essentially everything from the house other than the furniture moved by the professionals. It is piled-up in two bays of my daughter's garage and everywhere throughout my house. It will take months to get it organized. My parents had lived in that house for 75 of their 78 years of marriage.......so they had accumulated quite a few things [gr]. Now, we are trying to prepare the house for sale. Not an easy job - at such a distance. Yesterday, we celebrated Mom's 100th birthday. Nothing fancy. Mom and Dad are just "taking it easy", as centenarians are entitled to do. Pete .................................................... Pete Schermerhorn, in the glorious Berkshire hills of western Massachusetts </HTML>

Pete: What a beautiful, heart-warming story. God bless your whole family. Andy in Kitchener, Canada. ----- Original Message ----- From: <[email protected]>