Today is National Roots Day. What the heck is National Roots Day?
Is it
1. Time to have a date with Miss Clairol to be sure you don't look like Sammy the Skunk at the Christmas Eve Service?
2. A gardening holiday somewhere in the Deep South where you go hunting for taro, wild onions, or dig up the end of the carrots?
3. The day when dentists add up all the money they made off us poor folks during the year?
4. A time to celebrate your heritage?
Answer - #4 of course, silly yet Gentle Readers!
My roots are this:
I am a human being. Born in the US of some unknown combination of genetic heritage that includes known Irish Blood (have I mentioned this before?) and English Blood. And a lot of unknown stuff since the Tingleys have been in the US since the 1680s and therefore mingling genetic material for 13 generations with people who may have come from other parts of the world, or possibly even living here BEFORE the White Man showed up.
I'm pretty sure I don't have any Space Alien genes, but I could be wrong.
I looked upward at my family tree once and saw that back 13 generations ago there was not just Palmer Tingley and his unnamed wife, but 1022 other individuals procreating to create the 12th generation that would eventually create the 11th and so on. My first reaction to this was...I freaked out. I called my friend Jodi and said "I'm not British and Irish and a little unknown! I'm probably everything possible!" To which she said "Welcome to the gene pool, Miss Tingley!"
I see that now as a beautiful example of the interrelatedness of all things, people of course, generations, cultures, places, histories, stories most of which I'll never know but are still a part of me.
About Me
- Kim
- United States
- Getting older is not for sissies. I'm not a sissy, thank goodness. I'm a physical therapist, mom, daughter, sister, friend, and I am looking forward to "what's next?"
8 comments:
Do I have to join the YMCA to swim laps in the gene pool?
Y M C A....Y M C A
Just wanted to stick a song in your mind's ears this morning.
A review of the Tingley United news letter will
tell you that your heritage really started in Denmark and beyond. Issue dated Fall 2008. Its
a story about a soldier crossing the border into
Denmark and being challange on his heritage by
the border guard. He ended up in Tinglev, Denmark. The name was change from Tinglev to
Tingle to Tingley before Palmer ever left England.
Kathy - I think you and Tony have set the wave in motion in the gene pool, so you can swim laps any time you feel like it.
Dad - that's awesome. I feel like a Cheese Danish right now...
Actually, according to a book that was written for my 1st husband, the Tingley's date back to the "Big Bang"...and yes, I have that book that you, Larry and Mike wrote for Gregg!
Well, you DO have some UNKNOWN genes in there you know since we do not know who fathered me. What a looser he must be.
Do you suppose there really was an ADAM & EVE? If all those genes are running around loose I guess anything is possible.
Connie - I am holding the 45 records hostage until I can make a copy of that book!
Mom- I think Adam and Eve's living sons had to procreate with some space aliens if that's the story were gonna believe.
Kim, does your previous comment to your mother make you a Scientologist? If so, can I meet John Travolta?
http://www.npr.org/2010/12/23/132243268/ancient-bones-dna-suggests-new-human-ancestors
Funny, I was just shelfreading the geneaology section at the library yesterday. If we aren't descended from space aliens, we may at least be part Denisovian. Amazing NPR story about DNA discoveries at link above.
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