I haven't laughed so much in years! Linda Atkins ----- Original Message ----- From: "Kathleen's Korner" <Kathleen@KathleensKorner.net> To: <NorthernIrelandGenWeb-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, February 19, 2002 4:10 AM Subject: [NIR-GW] Are you an Addict? (Genealogy, that is!) > I enjoyed this article and thought it worth repeating for those of you > who may have missed it. If you're read it already in the last issues > of Missing Links, then just delete and move on. If you haven't, I > hope you enjoy it as much as I did. > > -- Kathleen > List Administrator > _______________________ > ~~~ Kathleen's Korner ~~~ > Kathleen@KathleensKorner.net > ==================================================================== > THE WORM'S EYE VIEW: EASY DUZ IT > by Beth Maltbie Uyehara <A HREF="mailto:BUYE@aol.com">BUYE@aol.com</A> > > Hi. My name is Beth M. U., and I'm a geneaholic. My story's not a > pretty one. I am sharing it here in the hope that it may help others > avoid my pitiful fate. If you, too, are addicted to genealogy, I want > you to know that you are not alone. There are thousands of us > worldwide struggling in the daily battle against this cunning, > baffling and powerful addiction. > > There was something "different" about me from the get-go. Looking > back, the signs were there for all to see. Even as a child, when > relatives threw old Daguerreotypes in the trash, I would fish around > among the coffee grounds and egg shells and pull them out. When old > letters or diaries were discovered in musty trunks, I stayed up all > night reading them. Obits, report cards, discharge papers, photos of > unknown people: I hoarded them all. I didn't care what kind of > document it was, or who it concerned -- if it was remotely connected > to "family," I had to have it. > > I'm making no excuses. I had a good upbringing. Genealogy certainly > doesn't run in my family -- I come from a long line of people who > could take their ancestors or leave them alone. Yes, there were rumors > of an aunt on my father's side who "did a little research on > weekends," but she covered her tracks well, and I have never been able > to prove for certain that she was a geneaholic. Aside from that one > suspect, my relatives were all what we call "social genealogists." For > them, a colorful forebear or two were good for party conversations, to > be chuckled over at family gatherings, and that was it. > > Not me. Right from the beginning, I was out of control. I could never > stop with just one or two ancestors. Every ancestor I found triggered > an insatiable craving in me for two more, and four more after that, > and eight more after that. I could not stop once I got started. > Eventually, genealogy took over my life. Bouts of compulsive research > would leave me babbling incoherently, slumped exhausted, sometimes > barely conscious, at a microfilm reader in some darkened room, > surrounded by other addicts satisfying their own shameful cravings for > genealogical kicks. Many are the times I've been thrown out of a > library at closing time, kicking and screaming, begging for just five > minutes more, just "one more ancestor for the road." It was > humiliating. > > As the years went by, things went from bad to worse. It was an endless > downward spiral. I found myself sneaking from library to library in > distant parts of town, even in other cities and states, searching for > the ultimate high -- that mysterious immigrant ancestor, whose > identity would make everything fall into place. I hit bottom one hot > August day in a cemetery in a far-off state. How I got there doesn't > matter. Let's just say that after much research, I had located the > grave of an ancestor who -- according to family legend -- had died in > some kind of accident. As I stared at the weathered, old tombstone, > wondering how I could find out how he had died, the thought occurred > to me: "I could dig him up and see." Immediately, I recoiled, aghast. > > "Eeeeeuuuuuuu," I cried, "yuk! That's gross." > > That's when I knew I needed help. Since that moment of clarity, I've > joined numerous genealogy support groups where we offer each other > strength and hope, along with research tips and potluck dinners. And I > have finally admitted, to myself and to other human beings, that I am > powerless over genealogy and my research has become unmanageable. It > may be too late for me. But, science has found that young family > historians -- those who are, as yet, only potential geneaholics -- can > sometimes stop in time. Answer these questions to see if you are in > the early stages of addiction. > > * Home: Has genealogical paperwork taken over any room in your house? > * Friends: Is genealogy interfering with your social life? Do people > edge away from you at parties when you burst into tears over the 1890 > U. S. census? > * Family: Do your relatives' eyes glaze over when you explain your > latest research? Do you find dead people more fun than live ones? > * Work: Is genealogy interfering with your job? How many hours of each > workday do you spend on the Internet, or checking your RootsWeb > e-mails? > * Marriage: Has your spouse ever asked you, "Aren't you done yet? How > far back are you planning to go?" > * Health: Are you starting to show the physical and mental signs of > geneaholic deterioration, such as red-rimmed eyes, a loss of interest > in current events, a shortened attention span for non-ancestral > topics, excessive viewing of the History Channel? > > If you answered yes to even one of these questions, you are on the > road to genealogical addiction. You must not research even one more > ancestor! You must stop NOW, before it's too late! When you feel an > overwhelming urge to research, repeat the following until the urge > goes away: "My mother found me in a cabbage patch. My mother found me > in a cabbage patch. My mother found me in a cabbage patch." Good luck > and God help you. > > PERMISSION TO REPRINT articles from MISSING LINKS is granted unless > stated otherwise, PROVIDED: (1) the reprint is not used for commercial > purposes; and (2) this notice appears at the end of the reprint: > Previously published in MISSING LINKS: Vol. 7, No. 7, 17 February > 2002, and written [or submitted] by [name, e-mail address, and URL, if > given]. > <AHREF="http://www.petuniapress.com/">http://www.petuniapress.com/</A> > > > > ==== NorthernIrelandGenWeb Mailing List ==== > *** Tired of this LIST? Going on vacation, a business trip? *** > Send an email with one word, UNSUBSCRIBE, in the Subject and Message > area to: NorthernIrelandGenWeb-L-request@rootsweb.com. Digest? Replace "L" with "D". > > ============================== > To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 >