Before I had my first sip of gourmet coffee, I checked my email messages. A cousin sent an astonishing message. The reader may not find the information exhilarating but the details will have me smiling all day. In my reply to my cousin, I said: “Maybe only a person immersed in genealogy would find that “fascinating” but “I’m immersed.”

Lorraine,I advise you to check your sanity at the door and sit down.

Attached are two photos.  One is Raymond Franklin Showalter born in 1943 in Fort Defiance, AZ and the other is his brother Richard Alan Showalter born in 1950.  They are 100% Navajos born to Daniel Mariano Showalter and Marjorie Lillian Ayze.  How is it possible to have 100% Navajos named Showalter?

It appears that their father, Daniel, changed his name from Daniel Showalter Mariano to Daniel Mariano Showalter.  Why did he do this?  Did he want a German-sounding name for his children?  Was there a friendly Showalter who helped the Navajo Clan and they wished to pay tribute to this Showalter benefactor?  How did the name Showalter become entangled with these folks?

Anyhow, I stumbled upon this mystery when I saw that Richard Alan Showalter married Mattie Mae Christensen, the sister of Donna Mae Christensen.

Who is Donna Mae Christensen?  She appears to be the mother of Elmer Stewart Rhodes III.  Since we have lots of Rhodes in our respective trees, I thought I would connect the dots and discover the Showalter-Christensen-Rhodes connection in of all places on a NAVAJO RESERVATION.

But it becomes more bizarre…

Google the name Elmer Stewart Rhodes III

Now, dear blog reader, friends, and family, I suggest you do what I did: Google Elmer Stewart Rhodes III. I won’t provide a link because I want you to “feel” the mystery and anticipation.

All day, I was researching and documenting the Boon and Boone families. I thought I’d connect the frontiersman Daniel Boone to the Boone cousins in my tree. Dozens of individuals…, hundreds of source records. Gratefully, I eventually found comments that supported my belief: Two unique trees. (I found the needle in the haystack.) Now, future researchers have “in your face” information. (I love clip art and creating a collage.)

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Below: I copied email information provided by fellow researchers and saved it with the specific individuals.  “Collaboration.”

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Below: The families who pray together, stay together. The “cousin marriages” illustrate close-knit families.

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In the image, the print appears so tiny because I had to expand to include all. Click the image and you can read the messages. My words appear in green (because that’s the way Ancestry lists…) and the green leaves are links to a vast amount of information in my tree. A sixteen-word reply. I’m so mad  (hurt), I think I’ll  IGNORE ALL FUTURE REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE. I wanted to send a one-word reply: “Ingrate”  —but I didn’t. ~~ See my previous message regarding her request.

I haven’t finished documenting the extended family of a deceased cousin. Two more obituaries just arrived in my email. ~~ The ancestry charts illustrate my penchant for elaborating beyond traditional birth, death, and marriage.

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First thing in the morning, the furnace but a need for the air-conditioner by mid-afternoon.Not complaining!!

Yesterday, at “Big Breakfast” (the first since March 2020), “Mr. Red” relayed a message from the new (as of January 2022) management company.  Evidently “they” manage a number of mobilehome parks and “they” say ours is the only one with a spirit of community. Our Park will soon be twenty years old and “Mr. Red” has poured “blood, sweat, and tears” into every inch. He is the heart of this Park (in my humble opinion); he knows the residents talents and tears. But the Coronavirus pandemic took its toll. Long story short: “Mr. Red” plans to have a “Big Breakfast” once a month and encourages residents to participate. It got me out!! Correction: He got me out!!

Frequently, I’ve mentioned gestures of kindness to Lorraine. “Mr. Red” brings a container with a portion of the meal he prepared at home. Remarkably, at Cracker Barrel, he will get a “to go” box before he starts his lunch and he will bring half to me. Every time he grocery shops, he phones to ask if I need anything. I tell him “I don’t want to be a bother”  (translated: don’t shop for me) but he brings fruit and veggies, and Blue Bell ice cream. Yesterday—on my shopping trip—I discovered Blue Bell is $8.00 per half-gallon. OMG!!

It’s Sunday and I’m full of praise and thanksgiving!!

Lorraine won’t buy $8.00 Blue Bell ice cream BUT, yesterday, she bought very expensive “Regenerist” because it says (on the box) “skin surface renewal starts day one.”  My face has so many wrinkles, I hate to see my ugly face in the mirror!! **If** there are more social events—and an occasional shopping trip—I want to look less like a witch. (Yes, that’s Lorraine in October 2015.)