I've just had a crazy thought - one of many I suppose. Please go get your local phone book right now. Yep, right now. V V V V waiting V V waiting Hi, that was fast. Okay, please turn the pages to "Mac". Count the number of "Mac" Queen and "Mc" Queen listings. There's 5 in mine. Brandi McQueen on Potts Creek Road Edward Queen in Winston-Salem Henry McQueen on Holloway Church Road down near our little farmette (too small to call it a little farm) Joetta McQueen, Attorney at Law over in Thomasville Ted McQueen on Liberty Drive in Thomasville Would y'all believe that I have not called a single one of them and they're right here in my backyard! Wonder where they came from? Wonder if one of them has info regarding their family history? Wonder which ones, if any, are African-Americans? Wonder which ones aren't? Wonder who is the oldest living Mac/McQueen they know? Wonder if they'll guide me to him or her? Hmmmmm. I think I'll call the one near my little farmette and see if I can strike up a conversation. Gosh, what if he has a Scottish accent? What if she doesn't? It's late, so I won't call tonight. I'll think about it a while and sorta plan on what to say. ............................ I suppose that there's 75 - 100 folks on Queen-L. If each one of us would call some nearby Mac/McQueen folks, I betcha we could find a dozen or so by the week-end that would really carry on a conversation with us. Shucks, we could even agree to research their family tree a bit. Then we could screen the "candidates" and easily get 3-5 of 'em to participate in our DNA project. We'd order the 12 marker sample to keep costs down and to screen the candidates for DNA similar to ours. We'd even make some friends in the process. ....................... Sound crazy? Well that's my middle name. ............Scary thought to call a total stranger? We'll here's a little true story that may make some sense...... In '61 I joined Uncle Sam's army and was stationed at Ft Jackson, SC. I was living in the barracks. My clothes were put away and I was in my ah, um, underwear, ready for bed when I had a really big urge for a soft drink. There was a drink machine across the road from the barracks. Cars travelled that road and there were people in those cars. I wanted a drink real bad, but I didn't want to put my clothes on. I would just dart across the road, get my drink, and dart back to the barracks. But....a terrible thought crossed my mind. What if someone saw me with nothing on but my underwear? V V Conclusion: I wouldn't know them and they wouldn't know me. So what difference would it make? Result: I ran across the road and got my drink. Remember, I really, really wanted that drink. Think about it. How many Mac/McQueens will you call over the next week? It may make all the difference in the world. Gene