All, I have been watching the discussions progress here and find them fascinating, regardless of what is said. For the record I am 3rd generation American, Born in Lowell,MA (Like Pat :)), however I stayed till I was 18, where upon I joined the Navy (not sure....but that might have to do with being a Portagee...) I have been working on the Abreu family line for over 20 years and it has only been in the last couple of months that I have learned so much about the people and their history from this list. Good, bad or indifferent it is what it is. As a student of history we can NOT apply 2007 thoughts to 15th century history. I for one am very interested in the discussions and have enjoyed all perspectives. Please continue.....and if you are offended.....turn the channel. Regards, Lou "For those who have fought for it....Freedom has a taste the protected will never know" " Without the Brave there would be no land of the Free" A new Recruit asked an old Warrior, "What is War like?" The old timer replied, "A bunch of us went down to Gettysburg one day, a lot of people died. If you weren't there you wouldn't understand." -----Original Message----- From: prt-madeira-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:prt-madeira-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Patricia Corbera Sent: Wednesday, February 14, 2007 7:02 PM To: prt-madeira@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [PT-MADEIRA] Porto Santo Duane De Mello <casademello@comcast.net> wrote: " However, I do not believe this forum is the appropriate place to discuss in detail, insofar-genealogical much less personal experience purposes." Hi Duane, Will you please explain what you meant by what you posted above? I, too am a first generation American born of Portuguese ancestry, soon to be 65. ;-). Born in Lowell, MA, but raised in San Diego CA. My family also lived in Oakland, San Leandro, Hayward, Newark, Livermore and now Tracy CA. All these cities had/have a solid community base of Portuguese residents. So I am "no stranger," to the Portuguese ways, as well as the "moda da Americana." Never the less I am still learning about the events that our Portuguese ancestors faced... as evident by Margaret"s reference to Castelo de Vide and the "safe house." What topics do you or other list members think should be discussed on this list ? I for one would like to know more about Dr. Robert Reid Kalley, the wealthy young Scottish physician who was also a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and his missionary work among the Madeirans. How about Dr. Manuel Luciano da Silva, in analyzing Christopher Columbus' three real ciphers: his Sigla, his Monogram and his Blessing. What about "Portuguese Recipes," Ailments," Blessings to cure various conditions, ie. "the evil eye," some of these practices performed by our Madeira ancestors were taken from the "slaves," that were brought to Madeira to work the fields, etc. These practices could often be perceived as border line "witch craft." Or is this list simply a vehicle to post surnames? Maybe Luis Beal needs to re-state the purpose of this list group, so that we're all on "the same page." We claim to be Portuguese, (I liked what Luis K W said "whatever that means.") with like as well as different life experiences...in my opinion that need to be shared. Correct me if I'm totally off base. Adios, Pat Silva Corbera "Genealogists live in the Past Lane." ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to PRT-MADEIRA-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message