notating these people before data is lost

not in good order as yet

my paternal lines

• 28 degrees from 

• Alexandre (Davy de la Pailleterie) Dumas père (1802 - 1870)Born 24 Jul 1802 in Villers-Cotterêts, Aisne, France 

  Died 5 Dec 1870 at age 68 in Neuville-lès-Dieppe, Seine-inférieure

        The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers

• 22 degrees from 

  Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson (1850 - 1894)

  Born 13 Nov 1850 in Edinburgh, Midlothian, Scotland, United Kingdom 

  Died 3 Dec 1894 at age 44 in Vailima, Tuamasaga, Samoa , France
• r Treasure_Island (1883), The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), Kidnapped (1886), and his children's poem collection A Child's Garden of Verses (1885).

•  

• 21 degrees from 

  Samuel Dashiell Hammett (1894 - 1961)

  Born 27 May 1894 in St. Mary's, Maryland, United States 
  Died 10 Jan 1961 at age 66 in New York City, New York, United States (Red Harvest, The Dain Curse, The Maltese Falcon, The Glass Key, and The Thin Man) and more than eighty short stories.[1

• 
  

• 24 degrees from

• Anthony Tony Grove Hillerman (1925 - 2008)

• Born 27 May 1925 in Sacred Heart, Pottawatomie, Oklahoma, United States
  Died 26 Oct 2008 at age 83 in Albuquerque, Bernalillo, New Mexico, United States 

•  25 degrees from 

  William Wilkie Collins (1824 - 1889)

  Born 8 Jan 1824 in Marylebone, London, England, United Kingdom 
  Died 23 Sep 1889 at age 65 in London, England, United Kingdom  English novelist, playwright, and author of short stories. Today he is best known for The Moonstone (1868), often regarded as the first true detective novel, and The Woman in White (1860), the archetypal sensation novel. During his lifetime, however, he wrote over thirty major books, well over a hundred articles, short stories and essays, and a dozen or more plays.[

• 28 degrees from Romare Bearden was an artist, composer, and writer, best known for his work as a collagist. He was a founding member of the Harlem-based artists group known as Spiral,
• 42 degrees from  Josephine Baker was a world-famous rags-to-riches American-born French dancer, singer and actress and the first African-American woman to star in a major motion picture, Zouzou (1934). At the height of her fame, in 1939 she became a French military intelligence agent, collecting detailed intelligence on German troop movements and the locations and activities of airfields and harbors.

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walts paternal lines

• 30 degrees from 
  Edith Ngaio Marsh DBE (1895 - 1982)
  Born 23 Apr 1895 in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand 
  Died 18 Feb 1982 at age 86 in Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
• author of 32 detective novels published between 1934 and 1982, and from 1928 to 1932 

• 25 degrees fromRaymond Thornton Chandler (1888 - 1959)

  Born 23 Jul 1888 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois, USA 
  Died 26 Mar 1959 at age 70 in La Jolla, San Diego, California, USA
• novelist and screenwriter.[2] In 1932,   decided to become a detective fiction writer His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in 1933 in Black Mask, a popular pulp magazine.[2] His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939.[2] In addition to his short stories, Chandler published seven novels during his lifetime (an eighth in progress at his death was completed by Robert B. Parker). [2] All but Playback have been made into motion pictures, some several times.[2] In the year before he died, he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America.[

• walts paternal line 

• 22 degrees from Langston Hughes 
• 22 degrees from  Marian Anderson, renowned opera singer and civil rights activist, in 1955 became the first African-American singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera.
• 22 degrees from Countée Cullen Countée Cullen was a prominent African-American poet, novelist, children's writer, and playwright. 
• 23 degrees from Cabell (Cab) "Cab" Calloway III
• 23 degrees from Jean Toomer was an American poet and novelist associated with the Harlem Renaissance.[1]

• 28 degrees from Arna Bontemps[1] was a poet, novelist, editor, and author of children's books. He was a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance

• 36 degrees from Duke Ellington 

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my paternal line  20 sept 2020

• 20 degrees from Horatio Nelson

• 21 degrees from Thomas Laycock

• 23 degrees from George Johnston

• 26 degrees from William Bligh
• 26 degrees from John Macarthur
• 26 degrees from D'Arcy Wentworth

• 27 degrees from Thomas Jamison

• walts paternal line 

• 22 degrees from Fletcher Christian

• 27 degrees from Peter Heywood

Obituary for my mother

Arleen (aka"Bridy/Bridget")  Bridget Lenora neeCroft Thomson

Born: 27 December 1936

Died 22 August 2023

Arleen was the eldest daughter of John & Marvel neeEaton Croft of Everett WA. 

She was born in Everett Snohomish Co., WA. 

She died in Morongo Valley, CA passing peacefully in her sleep.

She was a world traveler & lived for a time in the Marshall Islands

She Loved to perform with her friends both singing & dancing

She worked for the CA Aerospace industry for many years but also staged homes & hung wallpaper on the side for the fun of it.

She loved movies, music & cats.

She leaves behind her significant other, her younger sister, her children her 4 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren & friends who will all miss her greatly.

such simple words - not very many words to somehow encapsulate a whole lifetime - seems so inadequate some how..

 

 

why genealogists do what they do..

a perfect example of how EVERYONE can preserve their history
:
Photo by David Dockstader
as poster ‎Lori C‎ states SO clearly

"This is another good reason to get out and take those pictures of our families gravesites (even though some may think it odd) Future genealogists may never find their ancestors gravesites otherwise

ANYONE who does not speak out against this kind of hatred- condones it. I feel this implicitly

those who do not speak; either by ignoring it giving the perpetrators unspoken permission to continue

or by trying to excuse it making the speaker as bad as if not worse than the perpetrator. to excuse it is a conscious action to allow such perversion and hate to continue - this constitutes the very definition of immoral.*

neither methods of are acceptable in a civilized** world..

*immoral = wicked, foul, unprincipled, unscrupulous, dishonorable, dishonest, unconscionable, iniquitous, corrupt, depraved, vile, villainous,

**civilized= a stage of social, cultural, and moral development that enlightens, edifies, improves, educates, & cultivates

a little while ago i was reminded of some of the things i love about the schizophrenic valley i live in

understand i have a hate/love relationship to this place.. but every so often when i am really down on it - it does something to remind me of what i love..

I live in a small city... near one end of a string of small cities that follow the foothills of our mountains much of the length of our valley.. think of it rather like a string of beads, some shinier, some rougher than others.. ..the reason they were first put at the base of the mountains had to do with water availability in a rather harsh desert environment -and they are cities with city 'things' streets/traffic/crowding/sirens/dogs barking etc, etc

but every so often i am reminded how close the open desert really is.. tonite was one of those times..

i live on a fairly busy road, so i hear vehicles almost as white noise, we hear sirens a lot as we are an alternate route for them. so dead quiet is quite rare..

and in one of those very rare moments of stillness, just before dusk, i heard the coyote singing...

he made me smile...

have to admit it. i just dont get it.. 

reading a commentary on coyotes in another thread and people kept whining how 'scary' a coyote is to them.. 

REALLY??? -- for heavens sake why??
jeez people.

i must admit i dont know why anyone thinks they are scary.. i love listening to them.

and if you listen closely you can tell the stories they are telling.. the chattering when they are hunting (which is what i think this recording is) the verbalization when they are with cubs, the singing under the full moon just for the sheer joy of singing (and the song competitions when other packs are in hearing distance. THAT can be AWESOME..

our best songfest we EVER heard was here in the valley & had at least 3 packs in 3 side by side canyons and the canyon walls made them echo.. was awesome.. -

they also eat vermin. like nasty horrid rats.... makes them good guys in my book

and truth tell when you hear them you know where they are.. :) - just be sensible and keep your cats & small dogs where they belong (indoors) and your chickens /sheep WELL penned.

THERE IS nothing scary to them and YES i have had VERY close encounters. and i treat them as i do ANY wildlife.. with respect. Common Sense ..and acting Non threatening.. 

(I might add have been FAR more frightened by out of control so called pet dogs!)

( i also dont go walking in their territory with a snack on a leash.. just saying)

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Nov 2017

CAST

Tom Bateman, Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Marwan Kenzari, Lucy Boynton, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Sergei Polunin

I just got back from seeing Orient Express : the new one with Kenneth Branagh- and it was NOTHING like i was expecting.. and to be honest i am Delighted by that fact...

one other point before i start. while this is a MOVIE. it IS essentially a play on a specific & limited stage. it doesnt have the kind of wild & bloody shootem up bang bang excitement most movies seem to have now days. everything has to happen on that limited stage.. its the essence & part of what i Enjoyed about the movie.. I personally give it 4.5stars

understand 3 things
1) i am A LONG STANDING fan of Agatha Christie: i recently read a review who complained about Christie's mysteries that has the reader as being an observer rather than falling into the story.. i guess i prefer that.. i like trying to figure out how the detective is figuring things out.. invariably i end up rereading a story to see how i missed the obvious clues lol... so yes i love that.. If you dont Orient Express may irritate you..

2) as much as i hate to admit it i AM a Fan of Johnny Depp. in spite of himself sometimes. his role in this movie is remarkably restrained -- tight & rough as the character is SUPPOSED to be. not a Johnny extravaganza that apparently some expected & were disappointed not to get. so yea for Branagh's Directing for keeping him IN character!

3) i AM NOT a Branagh fan as a rule.. every time i see him he seems 'over the top' in whatever role. kinda like the complaints about depp. hard to see the character for the actor. Not to mention the deep prejudice of many that David Suchet's role in Sidney Lumet’s 1974 adaptation is the best out there. (he does portray Poirot physically to perfection but even he takes him 'out there' a bit. I found Branagh's Poirot a bit more realistic, a bit more 'human' as it were. Obviously still very OCD in his fanatic pursuit of 'balance' but still more understanding of other humans than has been portrayed before..

I will say the cinematography was awesome and the DETAILS on the train mind boggling (1930s Lightbulbs for heaven sakes & the measuring the silverware placement in the dining car.. they DID that then!!!) nice tiny details that make things more fun to watch & watch for.

the main negatives that i see in this version is there isnt time/effort to fill the other charactors in as much as i would like.. they remain fairly shallow- but then they were in the book as well.. with such excellent actors portraying them i would have liked to 'know the charactors just a bit more. nothing bad about them, just not enough of them.

As there are still some few out there who do not know the story or its ending i wont go into further detail on that. Suffice it to say, one thing i havent really seen in previous versions of the movie. this one acknowledges this is a Murder (not just a mystery) and like all murders its a tragedy and no matter how good the detective is, how well he does his job, he cannot mend the damages done by such a tragedy. he can only hope to find justice somewhere in the pain of it.

i didnt leave the theater smiling but i did leave it feeling what the depth of the story was really about. i count that as a successful movie

midnight musings

For a sister
waiting is hard.. very very hard.. may have after 40 plus years of searching found the last lost sibling. i have attempted first contact. and now i wait.. will she see it. will she Want to see it. will she answer. do i want to see her answer.. i can only hope she will want to connect even a little bit. scary thing is i dont know if she even knows she was adopted.. and we are pretty much sure its her..

i dont expect much From her, actually. i just need to fill in the holes of my past. she is part of that.. - i hope she will understand that. if allowed by her i would welcome her to the family with open arms & will try very hard to not push too hard..

finding missing people is a mixed bag. my birthfather was a happy story -my birth grandmother was just awful (long story) my one half brother has not connected by his choice but he's the same with his adopted family so it is what it is. i got family info to him and now its in his court.. makes me a bit sad but i did what I needed. i connected the puzzle piece. the half sister i did not know about has turned out good - she found me to answer Her questions :) - now i wait for the half sister i did know of..
and i am so not good at waiting... sigh..

scared excited impatient.. yea am all of these..
and i hope

a simple rant/commentary:
For all of you who subscribe to the "What about-itis syndrome*

first and foremost i would like to REMIND everyone of the definition of extremist " this is relevant & important

noun - "a person who holds extreme or fanatical political or religious views, especially one who resorts to or advocates extreme action". (up to and including cold blooded murder)

My point here is THAT ALL GROUPS of every walk of life has a small portion of extremists within it.
ALL groups..

the Difference here being that approx 98% of those groups are NOT led by or even adhere to any form of that extremism- groups that the so called alt right love to hang out a flag and whine about - groups like Black Lives Matter, something they call Antifa. (a group against Fascism is bad? in point of fact i can see why THEY hate them (see below)** - Planned Parenthood, etc etc etc....... NOTE THESE GROUPS are NOT led by nor even espouse the extreme portions of their own groups yet the alt right do everything they can to convince anyone they can otherwise..

THE DIFFERENCE BEING??? the alt right groups such as the KKK and the various NEO Nazis - are a WHOLE different kettle of fish gone bad. they ARE run by their extremists their entire entity is BASED on extremism.. the rare times i have seen where someone tried to go moderately, their OWN groups have gone after them like a shark feed frenzy..

SO DONT TRY wimping out with the "WHAT ABOUT?????" whine. its nothing but an attempt at a cop out. IF YOU DONT Believe in the hatefilled violence driven alt right DO NOT - I REPEAT - DO NOT try the 'the left is just as bad' whine. they are not. they never will be. - their VERY EXISTENCE is predicated on the OPPOSITE side of what the neo nazis and groups like the kkk represent.

if you use this excuse - you are actually CONDONING WHAT they stand for. and i for one REFUSE to have any part of that..
EVER..
i have served my country in 2 services. I CONTINUE to serve her in Standing up TO the hate and standing up FOR those willing to fight that hate.

*(a reminder that 'itis' refers to inflamation of..)

** the Antifa are autonomous anti-racist groups that monitor and track the activities of local neo-Nazis. They expose them to their neighbors and employers, they conduct public education campaigns, they support migrants and refugees and they pressure venues to cancel white power events.

i think i have lived in the desert far too long...
channel surfing and came to some sort of nature program that had no voice-over.. just pics..
and realized immediately i knew where it was.. 

so kept watching. it seemed to be featuring different animals & plants and some behaviors where the two came together on a very hot summer day (you could tell by the by their behaviors)

about 10 minutes or so later i realized i knew what Every single animal and plant & bug (save one) they showed..

i am not sure, but that doesn't sound terribly normal to me..

tho my amateur naturalist desert freak of a dad would probably approve..
hahahaha