Imagination

To form a mental image of something not present to the senses can be a powerful tool.  This is especially true for those of us who at times what not to confront and deal with a problem.  Or, it may actually help us deal with the problem.  Childhood trains us to use our imagination.

Here stands Will and Ian, two of my grandsons.   They are trying on their imagination.  Their creative ability has certainly been directed toward shields and capes, but hey...their capes are colorful, and their flying ability is yet to be tested.  "Here we come to save the day", they seem to be saying.   A creation of the mind it is.  At least they shared this day in their world of fantasy.  Childhood is such a world of exploration...and imagination.

School Plays

It would certainly be expected that most children's elementary education includes school plays.  You know those plays that require group participation, cooperation, acting, and those stomach butterflies that generally tell us that something unusual is about to happen.  Getting up in front of people and pretending that you are some character not usually part of the normal day, can produce a lot of these butterflies.

A "bunny rabbit " all dressed up and no place to go except to this school play.  Yelp...there I stand in all my glory, floppy white ears, crossed arms, and plenty of butterflies.  There were a few other kids dressed up a bit, but not like me.  Mom always thought I looked extra cute, but you can judge for yourself.  I was suppose to hop across the stage and not slip on the recently waxed floor.  Overall, I was pretty successful, and for this picture I got to stand right behind the princess that was suppose to come to life after I hopped by her pillowed rest.  Ah...those were the days.  Lights...action...let the school plays continue to train us for life's bigger stages.

Coconut Trees

Trees were a part of my growing up years.  Many days were spent climbing them, eating cherries, apples, pears, and walnuts from them.  Sitting under the shade of them on hot summer days with a little breeze making its way through the branches and leaves.  Now there were plenty of them around my neighborhood, but a palm tree was not one of them.

The picture above shows my Mom [to the right], her sister Faye [to the left], and a first cousin they called "Sissy". [In the middle of course.]  Sissy appears somewhat larger in statue than both Faye and my Mom, but Faye and Sissy seem to share the same facial features, including the red lip stick.   Mom may be about 14, and Faye about 16, and Sissy...well not sure, but would guess she is several years older.  Mom tells me that she usually did not wear lipstick or makeup.  Together, they are pausing for this picture in time.

The picture is taken in front of a back drop that contains a palm tree.  Now I didn't see my first "real" palm tree until our family took a trip to this new place called "Disneyland".  No branches, no real leaves, a lot of funny looking bark, and only a large black fruit called a coconut that you had to use a sledge hammer to get into.  Humm...a coconut tree in Winchester, Kentucky used as a back drop to take pictures.  I imagine that not many folks growing up in Kentucky during WWII would ever see a real palm tree.  That is unless you were in the military and got to that part of the world that had many of them. 

The back drops to our life.  We stand in front of many to get that picture just right.  On this day Mom, Faye, and Sissy shared this back drop.

Friends

Friends are friends forever...or so the saying goes.  True friends from childhood, true friends from high school, and true friends from college or work can often last a lifetime.  How many "true" friends are there?  The English word is derived from the Anglo-Saxon freon (to love), which is thought to derive from the word freo (free).  It implies that one is attached to another by affection or esteem.  It means one that is not hostile.  Thus, one is "free" from worry about "hostility" in a relationship that is built on affection and esteem.  Would life not be so simple.

The Anglo-Saxons also had a word for "enemy", i.e., one that is hostile.  The words are very close to the same except for the letter "r".   That's right.  One small letter of the Saxon alphabet made all the difference between friend or enemy.  "R" you friend or foe?  Can you imagine what might happen if you got tongue tied during a first encounter.  Perhaps this is where the old pirate saying..."aryee" comes?  "Aryee" ye friend or foe?  At any rate, how you say something can often make the difference between friend or foe.

My Genealogy Tree House

Building a tree house was always a challenge.  The neighborhood gang worked days on how one might go about getting an old dog house up to a branch some 6-8 feet off the ground.  It was an old oak tree with many firm looking branches, and would be an ideal location of a tree house.  After several days of trying, neighborhood kickball seem more practical and beneficial.

Needless to say, my genealogy tree house was a little more practical to build, and to climb.  Its branches are filled with family stories, family pictures, family memories, and much discovery.

The drawing above is my imaginary "genealogy" tree house.  You have to climb up the side using the rope ladder, but if you make it, you can climb out any of the branches.  In reality my blogs are the branches to my imaginary tree house, but they can be climbed at any time by the computer.  Just type in the "title" [subject], followed by blogspot.com, and there you have it.

Started July 7, 2010, the first branch is thejonesgenealogist.blogspot.com.  Stories, stories, and more stories are there.  How I got started doing genealogy...where I got started...when I got started....etc.,etc....you get the picture.

Started July 31, 2010, the results of more than 50 years of research into the JONES surname is presented in the blog: thejonessurname.blogspot.com.  Everything you wanted to know and were afraid to ask about the JONES surname. [Believe it or not, try it out.]

Starting August 8, 2010, a number of branches were added that had to do with some "how to's" for those who might have their own interest in starting some genealogy.  Blog spots called "ge-ne-al-o-gy" were written and can be climbed at:  ge-ne-al-o-gy101.blogspot.com, ge-ne-al-o-gy201.blogspot.com, and ge-ne-al-o-gy301.blogspot.com.  [For those just beginning their own tree climbing.]

Starting September 4, 2010, my interest in DNA and genealogy got to be utilized by trying to help the genealogist understand this complex subject.  My years as a physician, and my medical training, helped me put together a series of posts on DNA.  Of course, the focus is on the JONES surname.   jonessurnamedna.blogspot.com

Things would not be complete if those interested in the JONES surname would not be interested in Welsh genealogy.  This blog spot begins at the beginning of course.  welshgenealogy.blogspot.com [December 13, 2010]

Other branches that have been added since 2010:

  thebrickwallprotocol.blogspot.com [for those facing their "brick wall"]  August 6, 2011

  cadwalladerjones.blogspot.com [my favorite grandfather and his documents] Nov 4, 2011

  tjgresearchnotebooks.blogspot.com [An index and description of my genealogy research.] July 6, 2012

Wow, there you have it...sort of.  Come climb around my tree house...genealogy for generations...the branches are firm.

The Jones Genealogist Newsletter

In 1989, after some 30 years of tree climbing, starting a family newsletter seemed like a good idea.

 Little did I realize that some 22 years later all this blogging and posting would take over.  At any rate, The Jones Genealogist (Newsletter) was the beginning of many years of letting folks know about the JONES surname.

The figure above is a copy of the 10th year of publication.  Each year was bound and made available to those who might have an interest.

 

The figure above is an example of one page of the newsletter as it was published 1999.  Starting with the IBM-XT, then the IBM-AT, the newsletter took its own life so to speak.   The Wisconsin Historical Society maintained its subscription throughout the years, and pretty much has a complete file of the newsletter.  Hard copies of the originals [and duplications] are now located at the Joseph Wheeler Jones Memorial Library, Danville, KY.  It contains much of the genealogy research results of my first 30 years of tree climbing.  Some of the old copies are still available.  It is now an Internet world.

TAXI (II)

My Dad tells me that he believes this picture to be that of his father, Joseph Wheeler Jones, and not that of his Grandfather, Edward Turner Jones.   Dad relates that Pap paw (Wheeler by some, and Jay by his sisters) was somewhat of a "card", "cut up", and liked to get in the picture.  He believes that this was one of those times when Pap paw wanted to show his view of life.  How he (Pap paw) ended up this service car is unknown. 

Can anyone tell the year of this Model-T?  It would appear to be a model made in the 1920s.  Well Pap paw, I guess the truth did come out and you got in this picture.  Let's call it TAXI II.