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Request for Your Holiday Status?

Thu, Dec 17, 2020, at 10:05 PM
Beth,
What are you and Jack doing for the holidays?
Please enjoy all that you do and be safe.
Warmest regards,
John & Pam
P.S. Did I tell you we found a sister for Lucy Belle? Michelle named the newest puppy Tinker Belle.  The spelling in both cases is vintage Michelle. She and Pam are Disney fanatics going to Orlando every chance they get. I choose to watch the puppies rather than take 20,000-step walks. Lol.
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Photos Can Wait

Thu 12/17/2020 10:48 PM

Dare I say it? Yes, I miss the snow, the light and fluffy kind in Maine, not Ohio’s ice and slush. There is a true story or a myth that says we benefit psychologically from four seasons.  Maine has five; it is blessed with a rainy season.  Does this make you healthier than the rest of us? Perhaps. But then I think of how sore my back used to get when shoveling snow. Sanity returns, and I forget the snow.   

I agree that photos need to wait. However, I’m putting together a list and checking it twice. If I and everyone are not naughty but nice, I will encourage you to volunteer with FindAGrave. Currently, there are more than a dozen requests for photos at Hillside Cemetery.  Did you notice that 3 of the 41 graves in my Virtual Cemetery need the Beth touch? ?

Have fun! Take Jack to a movie and buy popcorn.

John, IV

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Re: FYI

 
Thu 12/17/2020 9:31 PM
 
John,

I’m curious, what is the messaging feature you mentioned on Ancestry, and how do you use it?  I”m not familiar with that.   

 

You also said you have 14 people with potential interest regarding your great grandfather.  That’s wonderful.  You’ve done a lot of work to try and figure out the Elcik puzzle, which is a very complicated process.  I am anxious to see where this goes.  

 
I’m in awe of your enthusiasm and tenacity to complete the puzzle.  
 
Beth
 
Thu 12/17/2020 9:44 PM

Beth,

When you are on a person’s profile, look to the right, and select the Tools pulldown menu. Select Member Connect. If anyone else is interested in that person, Ancestry provides a list of suggested connections.  The same Ancestry Tool we have used for ourselves is provided for making the connection.  
 
They may not all be good leads, but Bill, Robert, and yourself were three of the 14 for my Great-great Grandfather: John, Sr. One of the others had several family trees, one of which was for the Lucas family. 
 
As someone once said, it is better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick. Lol. 
 
John, IV
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Re: Request for Your Holiday Status?

Thu 12/17/2020 11:20 PM

Beth,

We will spend Christmas eve at JP and Ana’s house. Ana’s mom is gravely ill, and we are doing everything we can to make things better for her. She is living with the newlyweds while undergoing treatment for brain cancer. Ouch!

We will follow-up by spending Christmas day at Pam’s sisters’ house. Kathy lives about 10 minutes away from both our house and Michelle’s condo. Her house is big and accommodates more people comfortably. JP and Ana are 45 minutes away, and I refer to visiting them as a trip to Canada. They think I’m kidding. But they are close to where they work, and that counts for something.

I am going to surprise you. I like Tinker Bell (correctly spelled) as a Disney character, but not as a dog’s name.  It comes out “stinker.” Ouch. I have several theories about names. [I once wrote a letter about this. When I find that letter, I’ll send you a copy.] One theory says it is human nature to shorten them. Maybe it is going from three syllables to two or two to one; whatever the metric, we need to make it shorter.  John Paul became JP or, for me only, J is enough. Michelle is “shell.” I use Pam for Pamela.  Beth, John, Jack are all good solid names. ? Lol.

Given all of the above, the dogs are “girls” or the Belle sisters if I need to be formal.  Eventually, you will see how much alike they look. Michelle has the best pictures so I will ask her to send some to me.  Because of the pictures (Chihuahua/Terrier mix), you will understand why I sometimes revert to “big Lucy” and “little Lucy.” Anything but stinker, although that moniker applies to all puppies.

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The Subject of Names Revisited

Thu 12/17/2020 11:34 PM

Beth,
When you create a sweater and use the initials, the result can be inspiring.  John Paul Elcik is JPE, but the common practice is to place an enlarged copy of the surname’s initial in the middle as in:
JEP
I wanted to call JP Jeep. Sturdy, rugged… It never caught on with anybody but me. Lol.
John
P.S. It would be interesting for research to add how individuals were informally addressed in a separate field for ancestry research. Using the first name field for the given name and a nickname is inconvenient at best.