Next Step in the Search and...the Doctor!

Well, I bit the bullet and decided to hire an investigator to find my birth family. Not that I want to meet them. I just want to know where my ancestors hail from.

So far, she has already got confirmation of my last name, and is in the process of tracking the maternal side of the family. The paternal side is going to be virtually impossible.

With that in mind, I received an advertisement that says they will track your ancestry via your dna. And it's under $200. They say that they can go back 1000s of years to trace where you come from. I'm curious though...how do you prove it? How can you tell them, "You got it wrong!" All they have to say is, "Prove it!" You can't! Not unless you have verified documentation saying that instead of coming from Germany you come from Geezbookistan. I still may do it, though. Just for giggles.

Anyway, I'll update this blog with more ancestry info if I get it.

On a side note, I finally watched the Doctor Who episode, "The Waters of Mars". What can I say? Fan-stinkin-tastic. David Tennant really proved what kind of actor he is in this one. The look on his face as he decided that he was the Lord of Time and could do as he pleased was fanatical! Overall...even if you aren't a big Doctor Who fan, catch this episode. Along with "Blink", it may be the best ever.

Finally, three cheers for the Sacramento Kings. Down by 35 points in the 3rd quarter, and they come back and win on the road in Chicago. This is a new attitude Kings team. Anyone who can't get behind this team just doesn't like basketball. They are already nearing the total wins for last season, and we're still in December! Tyreke Evans is a stud, Jon Brockman is a self-sacrificing rebound machine, and the rest of the team is infected with the "team" bug, which makes these guys fun to watch. Coach Westphal...I don't know what you've done, but keep it up. And Sacramento area...get these guys a new arena, will ya? It will keep events coming to Sacramento and will help to eliminate the Cow-town label. Get it done!

Shopping with the Dry Heaves

Nice title, eh? A bit graphic, but the imagery works. Why? Because I hate shopping for anything in December.

Oh, it isn't the crowds, although those are annoying. People with their credit cards in hand, not learning from past mistakes, and going into debt buying items that will be returned most of the time for something that the person really wants.

It isn't the decorations, although those get on the nerves. If I see one more Satan Claus (oh...did I spell that wrong?) waving at me to encourage me to spend my hard-earned money I'm liable to take a baseball bat and see how far a mannequin can fly.

Actually, the worst part is something that my wife and I experienced yesterday: the incessant, repetitive music. Yes, Rudolph sung in reggae style is different, but the song remains the same. (With apologies to Led Zeppelin for stealing the title.) It isn't just that I don't celebrate Christmas, but what about Jewish folks? Do they like to hear these songs over and over again? And to make bad things worse, these stupid songs end up running through the brain like a scratchy recording of cats being tortured! I have to sing "It's a Small World After All" to get the Christmas song out of my head. Not that I like "Small World", but it's preferable. Rather like being hit with a brick so I don't feel the knife in my back.

Don't these stores realize that I'm more likely to linger and spend money if I don't have to run out screaming with my hands over my ears?

The sad thing is that there's nothing I can do about it. Well, there IS one thing. Can you type "A-M-A-Z-O-N-dot-C-O-M"?

Searchin'

I am adopted. What does that mean to anyone? To me, it means that I was fortunate enough to be taken in by someone who cared enough to call me by their name and to raise me as if I were her own, because in her eyes I was her own. My adoptive mother died several years ago, and her ex-husband, my adoptive father, died a number of years before that.

I never knew my birth mother. I never really found out her name or a lot of information about her. Why? California is one of those states where the only information you can obtain is "non-identifying information". So, there are a few things that I know about my birth parents. They weren't married. My father was supposedly adopted as well, so even if I were to find out about him, it would likely lead to a dead end. My mother was 23 when she gave me up for adoption. I know a little about her, but not much. However, my adoptive sister gave me a clue about my origins. Supposedly, she saw my file when she was at the adoption agency with my adoptive parents. (She was in her late teens at the time, so I trust what she says she saw.) She saw the name "Pringle" on the file jacket. I did some research using Ancestry.com and a couple of other sources, and I did find a Baby Boy Pringle born on my birth date in the city of my birth. So, that seems like a positive start.

Now I'm stuck. Even on Ancestry.com, I can't find out anything. What do I do? I'm tempted to hire a private investigation agency to track down the info, and that looks like my best shot.

A question I am often asked, though, is if I want to meet my mother if she is still alive. My answer? Not really. She gave me up, and from what the adoption agency says, she had good reason to do so. I'm not searching to try to recover lost family. I would just like to know where I come from. Where is my family originally from? The name Pringle is Scottish. Do I have that ancestry? Can I trace my roots back to the lowland clan of Pringle? How cool would that be? I would just like to know.

California needs to give more information. I know that birth parents want to remain anonymous, and I can respect that. But they need to understand that eventually the adopted person is going to have that longing to know where he or she comes from. It hurts a bit to hear how some people can trace their ancestry back hundreds or even thousands of years, and I can't trace mine beyond me.

So, I search. I dig. And I come up largely empty.

Ms. Pringle. If you ever read this and you know that you gave birth in January of 1964 in Los Angeles County, give me a hand, will you? At least help me to know where I come from.

Just a Quick One

Just adding a quick note so that I don't lose the habit again.

I have decided that YouTube is both a plague on humanity and a curse. Why? Where else could you see something like this? Noooo!!! The cuteness!!! It's...horrible!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Bmhjf0rKe8&sns=em

The Weather's a Changin'

California weather is bizarre. We have no autumn or spring. We have winter and summer and that's all. Having said that, we have gone from 60 degree plus weather one week down to a predicted sub-freezing night and 45 degree day. That may seem like nothing to those who live in Minnesota, New York, or Alaska, but to me it's incredibly jolting. I don't mind the cold. I don't mind the rain. I don't like the idea of having to hitch a ride to work with my wife because I can't ride my motorcycle in the rain, but that's another matter entirely. Still, I just wish we had four seasons in this state.

I lived in upstate New York for a grand total of 3 months. I arrived in late August of 1982 (don't laugh...I can't help being old) and left in December due to my utter failure to succeed at the university I tried to attend. (I refuse to get into that right now.) But the beauty of seeing the leaves change in waves was remarkable. From the third floor of my residence hall, I could look north and see a line of trees in the midst of a color change. The wave of red, orange, and yellow progressed towards my location each day, until it reached the local trees and moved past us to spread the glory to the rest of the state.

A short time later, most people had left the college to go home for the Thanksgiving break. I was stuck at the college since my home was in California. As I walked along the empty campus, it started to gently snow. I looked about the old buildings mixed with the new classroom halls, and was stunned by the silence and beauty of the snowflakes gently wafting past and coating the earth.

Why do I write this? I don't know. I just recognize that with all of the benefits of living in California (the economy not being one of them), I miss the seasons that I saw for those few months in New York. Sad? Perhaps. More like melancholy. Time for some Jim Croce and a cup of tea.

On another note...happy anniversary to Sam and Tami! Best wishes to you both!!!