I grew up being told that Ohio and Indiana sucked and the proof was without them Kentucky would fall down:/ Because of this I have always been thankful that the two were there. Having been in the hospitality industry in Kentucky where folks would come down from the North to enjoy our lakes and rivers, I can tell you that most respected our way of life and our lands. We are a more simple and directed people when compared to persons from other areas of this country. Drive down almost any road in any neighborhood or country lane and you will see clean ditches and mowed lawns. Our people can still laugh at the silly things we do without the useless posturing found elsewhere. I once had someone tell me they could tell by looking when they are in Kentucky. I asked how? The fellow from Indiana said: "When you see a $2,000.00 single wide trailer with a $600.00 pickup truck parked out front, a $21,000.00 bass boat on a trailer connected to that $600.00 truck and a 12 foot satellite dish in the front yard your in Kentucky." I thought about what he said for a moment, smiled and replied: "At least we have our priority's right!" We are taught an important lesson in life from our parents who learned the same lesson from our grandparents: Respect ourselves and others. From this we learned to respect each person for who they were and not for what they had. This is something that has been mostly lost elsewhere and tears at the very fabric of our country. When a people or persons try to attack what we don't have its only because they can no longer recognize what they themselves have lost, the ability to respect. I am not angry but rather feel sorry for those who can not see past a feeble attempt at journalism bordering on sensationalism. My family took out their first land grant in Kentucky when they arrived from VA in 1784. Like so many other families, they remained in KY for a little less than 100 years and then migrated to many other areas of America. I have been in contact with literally hundreds of my distant cousins since I began my genealogical studies into my family. The one common trait I recognizing is the respect I received from each of them. Each of them like myself are bred from a better people who had their beginnings in that beautiful sometimes rugged place called Eastern Kentucky. With Regards and Holiday Season Cheer, Jim Hawes SMcKenzi@aol.com wrote: > Alright, I can't stand it any longer without adding my 2 cents worth. I agree > with Bill that this discussion really is appropriate on a genealogy site. He > had a lot of good things to say. > > I completed a family book a couple of years ago for my mother's family (from > Nebraska). The poem below is on the first page of that book. I found it on a > website. The author is unknown. I still feel it is very appropriate: > > Our Ancestors > > If you could see your ancestors > All standing in a row, > > Would you be proud of them or not > Or don't you really know? > > Some strange discoveries are made > In climbing family trees, > > And some of them you know, do not > Particularly please. > > If you could see your ancestors > All standing in a row, > > There might be some of them perhaps > You wouldn't care to know. > > But there's another question, which > Requires a different view, > > If you could meet your ancestors > Would they be proud of YOU? > > Best wishes to all of you. > Sharon McKenzie > Born & raised in California > > ==== KYJOHNSO Mailing List ==== > Comments or suggestions pertaining to this list may be sent to the listowner, Ann Lemaster-Applegate > annapplegate@maysvilleky.net > Visit the Johnson County Historical Society homepage: > http://www.rootsweb.com/~kyjchs/johnson.html