Dear friends and cousins, As many of you may have noticed, I am sort of obsessive about this hunt for our ancestors, you may witness that on my website. If you trace the surnames that are all caps, you'll find that many of my/our ancestors came to America in the 1600s and so many fought for this country. They fought the elements, the natives, they were in Bacon's Rebellion, the Revolutionary War, the War of 1812, and on and on, serving on land and on the sea, including 3 brothers, 2 brothers who married my sisters and my own sweetheart. I am a patriot and I am proud of all these men and the women who supported them. We are America. The same is true of all the pioneers of Jackson County - you know that I am trying to prove that we are all linked as one family, sort of a large one, but then pioneers had large families. :) I find myself thinking that Jackson County, WV is a state of mind as well as a place. Mom always said that West Virginians are the friendliest people in the world, and I think she was right. I have a friend who was born in Ireland but he is an American. He has lived here for many years and he loves this country as much as any of us and perhaps far more than some. His family in Ireland is very upset with him and his family. You see, his son, Sean, who is a Canadian citizen - no, they have not been naturalized yet but will be - will be joining the US Marines in a few weeks, as soon as he gets his high school diploma. Sean believes in freedom, he doesn't have to do this. His aunt and grandmother in Ireland are condemming him for this, because they hate England and they see US as English allies. This is a political thing that I don't really understand, and I am not asking you to try to, only giving you the reason behind why my friend is heartbroken. He believes so much in what America stands for and has obviously passed that on to his son. It is hard enough at any time to see your son join the military, even in peacetime. Imagine it now. Imagine your son's grandmother acting like this. Imagine your heart breaking, too. If you approve, applaud and/or support this young man's decision to support the country of his heart, I would appreciate your telling him so. I would love to see you, West Virginia, the friendliest people on Earth, take him into your hearts and give him the support his own blood kin withholds. His name is Sean Campbell, he is 18 and willing to fight and die for this country and freedom. You may write to him at garryowen1@earthlink.net. If you want to condem or complain, address it to me, not him or this list, please. I apologize in advance to anyone who finds this message offensive. Thank you, Betty http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~bbriggs/