The Darkest Year_Hiding in the Family Tree_The way things used to be_About Dan
Catalog Guide:
The Darkest Year
The Darkest YearAt first, it wasn't something you would notice. In the United States, people became sick here and there with something called a "three-day flu." That was the first wave.Life in 1918 was perilous. A high percentage of women still died in childbirth or from the after-effects of childbirth. Many children died before their fifth birthday of one disease or another--tuberculosis or pneumonia. The average life expectancy in the U.S. was around 50.If you made it to young adulthood, it was a time to celebrate. Your good years were upon you. You were the backbone of the country and, if y...
Hiding in the Family Tree
“Hiding in the Family Tree”It had been about three years since I’d tried what thousands of other curious people had; I’d bought a home DNA kit and traced my family’s history. It was just an effort to satisfy my curiosity and find out more about my roots than I’d been told growing up. A couple of my friends tried it and said it was an amazing experience to learn details of ancestors they never knew existed. My own experience was less satisfying. My report went back four generations, to Ireland and America, and the maps and family tree diagram filled in so many blanks for me. It was a very com...
The way things used to be
You used to love sledding. It was the only thing you did from the moment you woke up to the moment you fought mom for putting you to bed. Don’t you remember? I had to chase after you because you didn’t bother to put on your snowsuit properly so all the snow just went inside. Then mom had to drag you back and redress you. What a little stinker you were. You were like a dog with a ball. You went up and down the hill thirty times, then you’d rest for five minutes and go another thirty times. It was just exhausting watching you. But you never quit, it was amazing. You were like the guy carrying th...
About Dan
I am a changed man. Changed by which I no longer care if I die tomorrow or today. Changed by which I no longer crave for love or for hope. Changed by which I'm no longer a man but a caged animal on his verge of death. You would think my time in prison would help recover the last pieces of humanity left in me. But no. I had grown too old to bother. For half of my life, I was forced to repent for the mistake I made as a young man. Yes, I was young. I didn't know back then about the laws of the state. I know nothing about sanctions, felony, or even homicide. I was out of school since I was twelve...