I Love My Family, I Am Really Family Oriented
I was doing some research to add more information to a memorial for my Moms Dad's memorial ,
and for the hell of it I put my Dads name in the search .
I knew my family had books written about them ,a lot on my Grandfather and his Dad ,,
but Damn ,our family own's a castle and a court in England to this day .
Accurate records kept back to the 1600's and beyond ,(that was as far back as I looked ,the archives go on and on )
And very accurate records kept on my family ,especially after 4 brothers came to the USA .
My Dad always said my name was one to be proud of ,but man ,I was blown away .
I knew my family built towns ,but to have lead battles against France .
I was looking up my Moms Dad's military history and I knew he commanded 1 of only 2 vessels built just for war, for the Coast Guard during WW2 .and I did find a lot on him ,
Someone who is not even in our family has done a lot of research on him ,so I want to add pics I have and stuff I know personally ,but when I put in Dads name and our history started popping up ,I was blown away how extensive it is .
Now other than family pride,that I already had ,this info and $3.00 might still buy me a good cup of coffee .so I am not wanting ,or expecting it to impress anyone else ,
But I was just blown away ,when my Dad said our name was something to be honored and upheld .I had no clue .
Dad walked away from a fortune over who he was going to marry ,
If Grandpa did not approve ,you were on your own ,cut off .
He gave you a piece of land (worth about $75.00 back then ) and it was up to you to turn it into something ,
unless you worked for Grandpa and did everything he asked of you ,his name was not your meal ticket and he did have a lot of control over our city and his family .even who would hire you ,he was not someone to make mad ,he could literally ruin you .
But like my Dad, I wanted to make my own way ,not having Grandpa tell me who to vote for and who I could and couldn't marry ,what kinds of jobs were below me .
but Grandpa did give me a real job at age 13 that supported my first wife and I until I joined the Coast Guard to follow in my Mom's Dad's footsteps when I turned 17 ,
I am grateful to this day ( he always said I was born for more ,and I disappointed him when I quit school to work full time ,but he did not shun me ,I was his grandson ,but I was shown no favoritism ,I either gave him a fair days work for a fair days pay ,or I was history .
I am very proud of all my Grandpa did ,and his brother
but to leave a legacy that generations are still fighting over ,not my cup of tea .
If some of them knew our name still held clout in England ,and we have a family castle
they would be on the next plane to England to lay claim to and fight over that ,some do love money ,big titles and power ,it sad to me ,I see why Dad hated it .
My Dad showed me by example ,how to love ,how to forgive ,how to share ,how to help others
That there was more to life than money (sorry I didn't listen sooner to ya on that one Dad)
That family was all we really had ,and the family plot was the only real estate we would end up with ,greed and the love of money would only bring us pain ,he was right .
He taught not to base our lives on the goal of rich's ,it was already destroying our family then ,it still is now ,they would rather fight ,and tie it up in the courts then to settle a very long battle ,and each get something ,than to die still fighting and none of them get anything ,so their greedy kids pick up the cause ,only adding to who now thinks they are entitled to a share .
Dad played into it for a while ,but after seeing all the bitterness ,brother against brother ,household against household , he backed out of it ,
so he taught me at least , instead of fighting over money ,uphold our own integrity ,let your word be your bond ,uphold your family name .(I think he would be very proud of his offspring )
I wonder if he knew ,its a very old name ,and has been honored for centuries
He really did have a heritage to be proud of . its was far bigger than his Dad and Grandfather .
Many more books have our name on the cover ,and they are not about Grandpa and Great Grandpa ,they are a part of History
All that said ,and I am proud of that ,BUT ,I am more proud of the name my Dad and I upheld
That my Dads children ,and now mine and their children can say
Our Dad and or Grandpa were all about the family ,Family mean't more to them than gold ,
I can say my Dad passed on his wisdom ,his integrity ,and his huge heart ,
I think my kids and Grandkids will say the same about me ,what more could a man ask for ?
Most of my family looks like buzzards on a corpse in the desert ,picking those bones clean ,not enough left for the ants .
I am proud to say ,My Dad didn't raise me that way ,let them have it I say
they can't take it with them .and it sure as hell is not making any of them happy ,
but its nice to know our name once meant something
I guess in England ,it still does
and for the hell of it I put my Dads name in the search .
I knew my family had books written about them ,a lot on my Grandfather and his Dad ,,
but Damn ,our family own's a castle and a court in England to this day .
Accurate records kept back to the 1600's and beyond ,(that was as far back as I looked ,the archives go on and on )
And very accurate records kept on my family ,especially after 4 brothers came to the USA .
My Dad always said my name was one to be proud of ,but man ,I was blown away .
I knew my family built towns ,but to have lead battles against France .
I was looking up my Moms Dad's military history and I knew he commanded 1 of only 2 vessels built just for war, for the Coast Guard during WW2 .and I did find a lot on him ,
Someone who is not even in our family has done a lot of research on him ,so I want to add pics I have and stuff I know personally ,but when I put in Dads name and our history started popping up ,I was blown away how extensive it is .
Now other than family pride,that I already had ,this info and $3.00 might still buy me a good cup of coffee .so I am not wanting ,or expecting it to impress anyone else ,
But I was just blown away ,when my Dad said our name was something to be honored and upheld .I had no clue .
Dad walked away from a fortune over who he was going to marry ,
If Grandpa did not approve ,you were on your own ,cut off .
He gave you a piece of land (worth about $75.00 back then ) and it was up to you to turn it into something ,
unless you worked for Grandpa and did everything he asked of you ,his name was not your meal ticket and he did have a lot of control over our city and his family .even who would hire you ,he was not someone to make mad ,he could literally ruin you .
But like my Dad, I wanted to make my own way ,not having Grandpa tell me who to vote for and who I could and couldn't marry ,what kinds of jobs were below me .
but Grandpa did give me a real job at age 13 that supported my first wife and I until I joined the Coast Guard to follow in my Mom's Dad's footsteps when I turned 17 ,
I am grateful to this day ( he always said I was born for more ,and I disappointed him when I quit school to work full time ,but he did not shun me ,I was his grandson ,but I was shown no favoritism ,I either gave him a fair days work for a fair days pay ,or I was history .
I am very proud of all my Grandpa did ,and his brother
but to leave a legacy that generations are still fighting over ,not my cup of tea .
If some of them knew our name still held clout in England ,and we have a family castle
they would be on the next plane to England to lay claim to and fight over that ,some do love money ,big titles and power ,it sad to me ,I see why Dad hated it .
My Dad showed me by example ,how to love ,how to forgive ,how to share ,how to help others
That there was more to life than money (sorry I didn't listen sooner to ya on that one Dad)
That family was all we really had ,and the family plot was the only real estate we would end up with ,greed and the love of money would only bring us pain ,he was right .
He taught not to base our lives on the goal of rich's ,it was already destroying our family then ,it still is now ,they would rather fight ,and tie it up in the courts then to settle a very long battle ,and each get something ,than to die still fighting and none of them get anything ,so their greedy kids pick up the cause ,only adding to who now thinks they are entitled to a share .
Dad played into it for a while ,but after seeing all the bitterness ,brother against brother ,household against household , he backed out of it ,
so he taught me at least , instead of fighting over money ,uphold our own integrity ,let your word be your bond ,uphold your family name .(I think he would be very proud of his offspring )
I wonder if he knew ,its a very old name ,and has been honored for centuries
He really did have a heritage to be proud of . its was far bigger than his Dad and Grandfather .
Many more books have our name on the cover ,and they are not about Grandpa and Great Grandpa ,they are a part of History
All that said ,and I am proud of that ,BUT ,I am more proud of the name my Dad and I upheld
That my Dads children ,and now mine and their children can say
Our Dad and or Grandpa were all about the family ,Family mean't more to them than gold ,
I can say my Dad passed on his wisdom ,his integrity ,and his huge heart ,
I think my kids and Grandkids will say the same about me ,what more could a man ask for ?
Most of my family looks like buzzards on a corpse in the desert ,picking those bones clean ,not enough left for the ants .
I am proud to say ,My Dad didn't raise me that way ,let them have it I say
they can't take it with them .and it sure as hell is not making any of them happy ,
but its nice to know our name once meant something
I guess in England ,it still does
