Tika and I are lucky enough to spend time in our boat out on the waters of Lake Roosevelt (the lake formed from the Columbia River when Grand Coulee Dam was built and so named for President Franklin Roosevelt). I look at the trees and the rocks and see so many parallels to life and to genealogy.
Somehow a Ponderosa Pine seed gets blown into a crack in a huge granite wall near the lake. There is just enough soil accumulated in that crack to get the seedling tree off to a good start.
Parallel: Too often we have just enough information to "whet our whistle" on a family history problem. We know that great-great grandmother, born in 1822, must be dead, but where did she die? In every available place or source..... or crack.
Some trees manage to extend their roots and find enough soil and moisture to survive and grow. Others do not.
Parallel: Sometimes we chase the wrong set of facts and end up with a "dead tree."
We solve some really tough genealogy problems by sheer perseverance.... and by learning how to effectively research. (How did that Ponderosa survive to become so big from whatever little nourishment and water it found in the granite bluff's cracks?)
Parallel: If we look "in the right place," we'll find the answering facts. But until we find the right place, we keep looking.
Taking 100 photos of the granite bluffs and Ponderosa pines along Lake Roosevelt would not come close to capturing the majesty of the miles of views along the river/lake.
Parallel: Some of our family lines are a joy to pursue for we find answers and ancestors!
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