While I was taking the introductory course (online) in genealogy from Boston University, it was pointed out that you can't always take things at face value when you are searching for information about your ancestors. There are a few reasons for this. People don't always remember facts and stories correctly; some information passed down may … Continue reading Just Because Something Is Written In Stone
Tales from 4th Street
The old Brownstone is for rent…
The "Siblings & Dad" thread on my phone pinged a few weeks ago on a Sunday morning. Bob, my brother, forwarded a link about the brownstone on 4th Street in the Park Slope neighborhood in Brooklyn that was home to my family in the 60s and early 70s. It is for rent. Wouldn't it be … Continue reading The old Brownstone is for rent…
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Small World…
The universe has a way of reminding us that we live on a small planet. I work in a government office in Southeastern Virginia. I am part of an eight-man team; six are government civilians, two are active-duty military officers. Of the eight, three have childhood roots in Brooklyn or Nassau County on Long Island. … Continue reading Small World…
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Three Generations of Brooklyn Stoops
“Look at everything always as though you were seeing it either for the first or last time: Thus is your time on earth filled with glory.”Betty Smith. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn A stoop is a staircase ending in a platform leading to a house or apartment building entrance. In Brooklyn, a stoop is so … Continue reading Three Generations of Brooklyn Stoops
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Up On The Roof
While listening to Spotify a few months ago, a James Taylor cover of “Up On The Roof,” by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, began playing. To me, the song is quintessentially about New York. As luck would have it, I was putting together flash drives of old family photos for my siblings at that moment … Continue reading Up On The Roof
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I am getting back to work here
I have not posted on the blog since last summer. In the interim I have been working on my other blog. If you know about that blog, you know about it. If you don't, let's just say I do not want to cross contaminate between the two blogs. This is the lighter of the blogs, … Continue reading I am getting back to work here
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Serendipity, Thy Name is Goat
The text of the email read as follows: "Don't ask how I got to your page but I may have what you are looking for..." Sometimes the universe surprises me. Something incredible happens, and I have no explanation for it. My father would call that a miracle. I will call it serendipity. We all have … Continue reading Serendipity, Thy Name is Goat
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Brooklyn Tour
It was my youngest sister's idea. In recognition of our parents' 60 years of marriage, we would return to where it all started. Brooklyn! The plan was pretty simple, Mom and Dad would come down from their home in Massachusetts with my sister and meet up with the rest of their children in Brooklyn. I … Continue reading Brooklyn Tour
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“Money Cake”- Tales from 4th Street
As a child in Brooklyn, the first notable event in my family that came after the Christmas and New Year's Holiday was my maternal grandmother's (and her twin brother's) birthday. This year will mark the 111th anniversary of their birth on 23 January 1906. At a family reunion back in October, my mother and her … Continue reading “Money Cake”- Tales from 4th Street
Michael's Monologue 