Tamara, that was beautiful and so well said. A few years ago I wrote a poem that speaks to this feeling. It is quite long so I am only sending the last few lines. Could they only imagine on that long-ago day That the entries they made would affect us this way? If they knew, would they wonder at the yearning we feel And our searching that makes them increasingly real. We can hear if we listen the words they impart Through their blood in our veins and their voice in our heart. Family history is a strange thing. You either "get it" or you don't. For those of us that do get it, it is a stirring in our soul to put a face to our ancestors, to walk in their shoes, and experience history...the good...the bad...and the ugly. There are many things in history to make us weep and cringe. The Witch Trials were one such thing. This last year my husband and I have traveled extensively across the US and have visited many historical sites. Many have been the sites of suffering and persecution. The hush of Vicksburg stirred me and I stood with tears as I remembered my ancestors that fought in the Civil War; I witnessed some of the shacks that depicted how the slaves lived and suffered, and I cringed at the knowledge that some of my ancestors were slave owners. I looked around and I saw that segregation is still very much alive in places, and that we still have a long way to go in our quest for tolerance. There are so many things that happened in our history. Some we can be proud of, some we must accept as lessons. Instead of focusing on the negative things in history, let us learn from our mistakes and go forward and try to make world a better place right now. I have researched many of my ancestors. Some were kind and gentle people and I am very proud of them. Some were troubled and less than kind. But they all were human beings, and I am the sum of all of them...the good and the bad. They all have a story to tell and a lesson to teach, if we only listen with our hearts. Darlene