Little Bit 2

Sometime ago I put up a post about Why We Do It.  I am fascinated by the variety of people who are interested in family history and their reasons for doing research.  So, every time I come across something on the subject or have a new thought on it I will post it.  This one is from Ian Frazier’s book Family.

” I wanted my parents’  lives to have meant something.  I hunted all over for meaning of any kind–not, I think, simply out of grief or anger at their deaths, but also because the stuff they saved implied that there must have been a reason for saving it.  The smell of an old hymnal, the weave of a black mesh hat veil, the tone of a thank you note, each struck me with the silent force of a clue.  Something was going on here.  I believed bigger meaning hid behind little ones, that maybe I could follow them to a source back tens or hundreds of years ago.  I didn’t care if the meanings were far-flung or vague or even tivial.  I wanted to pursue them  I hoped maybe I could find a meaning that would defeat death.”