Random Stuff

Some randomness for you as you enjoy your long weekend and remember our veterans. 

1.  Can anyone tell me when (or why) the word I used to know as "yeah" or "yea" become "yah"?  I realize this sounds a bit like Dad, but taking the "e" out of that word also takes the "e" sound out of it, correct?  So, for me, "yah" should sound like the German word for yes: Ja.  (Shout out to Emmy).  It bugs me when I see this.  Let's put the e back into circulation when we are cheering.

2.  Overheard yesterday:  "Could you take a selfie of me standing over here?"  Hmmm.....(again sounding like Dad)....shouldn't a selfie be taken by the "self" involved????  I wanted to scream the same thing that woman in one of the insurance commercial says:  "It doesn't work like that.  None of this works like that."

3.  Speaking of Dad, I was thinking of him as I was madly trimming overgrown bushes in the garden this weekend.  Before I knew it, it was down to its nubs but it seemed like the thing to do.  Now I get it, Dad.  I do. 

4.  Those bushes I was trimming to their bases are spirea bushes.  I believe those are the kinds of bushes we had outside the front window on Dennison Road.  They had pretty white flowers and I wanted the same for my own house.  I wasn't able to find the white ones, but I did plant other varieties.  Recently I read this article that suggested that spirea was "old school". 

I believe our Dennison Road spirea came with the house, and Dad may have tried to kill them.  But I am the one that wants to bring it back to my own life.  Interestingly, those bushes I trimmed to their nubs had a tag at the base that I found when I made my way there.  Spirea.  Now nubs in my garden.

Bam!

I have made it my mission lately to try to "close the door" on the open-ended ancestors' lives.  There are no fewer than 820 living relatives currently in the family tree.  Of course, a number of these are people like you and I.  And then there are those who probably died over 100 years ago.  And I'd like to close that door by finding the death information for these people thereby lowering that number of living relatives to something closer to a reasonable number such as those you might invite to a wedding. When I find a death date and enter it into the family tree, I exclaim "BAM!" out loud.  Even when alone.  Retirement allows me many more opportunities for "BAM!" than ever before.  (I'm not sure that came out the way I intended)

I randomly select one of those living relatives that should be long-dead and start looking.  Pretty soon I'm wandering down a tangled road of maybe and perhaps and uncovering potential stories.  Sometimes I get lost and forget to blog. 

I thought you might be semi-interested in one such story.  Grampie Brown (Nanny Flynn's grandfather) had 5 brothers and sisters.  He had one older sister Drusilla and one younger brother Walter along with three younger sisters Jane, Elizabeth and Ida.  This family lived primarily in Buffalo until the children became adults.
Drusilla, Jane, Elizabeth, Ida and Grampie are all accounted for with full stories from birth to death. 

But Walter does not and he has bothered me for a long time.  I want to find his story, but Walter Brown is a fairly common name especially in a city like Buffalo NY.  Two of the sisters married and lived in Michigan.  Michigan is much more open than New York in sharing vital records like marriage, death and cemetery records so I was able to track them even though females are harder because you may not know their married names.  I was lucky to obtain their father's will which listed each of the children and their residence at the time. 

Furthermore, I was lucky that the youngest daughter Ida married a man with an unusual name Ivah Bradt.  They lived in Ellicottville and their mother lived with them after her husband died. Take note of this tidbit from the Ellicottville NY Post April 1889:

Take note of station agent I.N. Bradt losing his goose.  These people had a hard time keeping track of their geese (maybe you remember another lost goose during the Civil War period.....and maybe you don't).

Anyhow, my laser-focused attention on Walter's life has not produced anything definitive yet.  He might have married a Sarah Armstrong and lived in Buffalo himself.  Or it was another Walter Brown.  Sigh.  I'm going to put Walter aside and try for another "BAM!"  See you on the other side.

I have just returned from a quick visit to Erie to see Amy and help with some wedding planning.  I thought this would be a good time to update you all as well so you could plan appropriately.  Amy's wedding to Michael Heisler will be held in the Erie PA area in August 2015.  Although the venue has not been confirmed, she is planning to be married Sunday Aug 16 2015.  So--yes, the wedding is in Erie PA on a Sunday in August.

She is debating between two venues.  Nick's Place and the Ambassador Center.  I think you can get a hint from their names of the major differences between the two sites.  She has some tough decisions to make in this regard!!!

Nick's Place is 15-20 minutes from Erie closer to Edinboro (a college town).  If she chooses Nick's Place, we would probably arrange for rooms at a Comfort Inn in Edinboro as well as for rooms in Erie PA for those that might prefer to be closer to the highway and city life.

The Ambassador Center is conveniently located just off the highway in Erie and has two hotels available at the site.  If she selects the Ambassador Center, the reception would be held from 6-10 PM as per their policy.

In either case, it is her intention to hold the ceremony at the reception venue.  We understand this is both long into the future as well as a long trip for most of you so I wanted to get the word out for you to start thinking about your plans.  If you are interested in what goes on in Erie PA, check out www.visiterie.com 

Wedding planning is stressful for all as it tends to say a great deal about the personalities of the couple while at the same time attempting to appease the interests of the families involved.  Amy told me her main focus will be on making the day wonderful for her guests.  I remain uncertain of how to behave as a future mother-in-law.  When you have children, there are some helpful guidelines provided for how to be a good parent.  Not so much in this world of in-lawing.


Of course, this all brings to mind other Ryan weddings.  I think about what Mom and Dad must have been feeling.  It wasn't new to them as it is for us, but each child and spouse carry their own weight with their parents and in laws. However, to keep tradition alive, we will try to remember to provide a scoreboard to keep track of favorite uncle points :)