People I Admire

Jack
You always say, 'I wish I'd kept a journal of my life- it's not too late to start now, is it?' smiling widely, as if you know you're asking a silly question.
I wish you'd kept a journal of your life too Jack. Eighty-seven years of open eyes, mind and heart, and I've only shared part of the last one with you. I wish I'd been there to share it all.
Your view has been inspired- I can tell.
Happy 87th Birthday!

Wherever there's a will there's a way - you're making it against all the odds. I admire you.

My paternal ancestors in 1905 - I admire them because they came from nothing and made something.
My grandfather - father's father - Phineas O'Hearne-the boy in the striped shirt on the left - a small Texas boy of Irish descent ten years old in 1905 - and my great grandmother - Rebecca Jane - for whom I was named (they changed it to Rebecca Jean- holding the baby on the right).

Eliza Udoshia Keener - sitting in the center - 50% Cherokee - who started out in North Carolina and pioneered her way to Texas.

Alva Orlando was my great-grandfather and what they called 'a dirt farmer'. His son, Phineas became a carpenter - and moved to the city of San Antonio during WWII and my father Edwin - was the first in his family to earn a university degree and enter a 'profession'.

I admire them for never giving up - for their forward - looking and ever-seeking pioneer spirit.