> > > As genealogist we tend to spend a lot of time looking at birth and death > dates and trying to connect people. I think this little poem states > much better the real purpose of our search for family members. It made > me stop and think more about the lives and the struggles of those I write > about but never knew. Hope you don't mind me forwarding this to the > list. Jody > > >The Dash >-=-=-=-=-=- > >I read of a man who stood to speak >at the funeral of a friend. >He referred to the dates on her tombstone > From the beginning to the end. > >He noted that first came the date of her birth >And spoke of the following date with tears. >But he said what mattered most of all >Was the "dash" between those years. > >For that dash represents all the time >That she spent alive on earth. >And now only those who loved her >Know what that little line is worth. > >For it matters not, how much we own >The cars, the house, the cash. >What matters is how we live and love >And how we spend our dash. > > > > > > >