Impatience is a virtue I'm not proud of...

Well, I sent emails to the port authorities of Seville, Spain and Cadiz, Spain as I try to narrow down which port Abuelita and her family boarded the SS Orteric that day in 1911.... I was sure it was on the Guadiquiver River port in Seville but recent information may have shot a hole in that assumption. I need documentation or at least factual answers here. No response from either of the port authorities yet.

Then I sent an email to the Bishop Museum in Honolulu, Hawaii asking where I can research (and find!) a master list of bango numbers, which are the numbers given to immigrants entering Hawaii to work in the sugar cane fields due to mispronounciation and the immigrant's inability to write their own names. No response.

I wrote to rootsweb hoping for an indication of where I could research sugar plantation life on Hawaii in the early 1900. No response there either. Did I give up? NO, no, no.....

Then a got a note from a stranger about a book he's sure will help me titled, MEMORIES OF SPAIN by Anne Aguilara Santucci, which is now out of print (go figure...) I couldn't find it anywhere but contacted the Library of Congress who gave me a list of all US libraries and suggested I get an interlibrary loan from my local library. Well, we live in Charles City and my Williamsburg Library card won't allow interlibrary loans. Charles City is a rural community without a town... I was told to go through the Charles City Library. What? There's a Charles City Library? Well, I found there is one that is shared with another county so I called and was given the library manager's name and email address. I'm excited again and sent off that email on Thursday (4 days ago). No response.

Well hey! *^&$%^&&()(*^% That's another word for well, hey! If I was rich, I would fly to Hawaii and do my leg work on my own. Unfortunately, that's a long way and won't work... I found I can call with my cell phone so Monday I hit the air waves. Or is that sound waves? Or just phone waves? Either way... I will not allow myself to get stuck.

To add jitters to a calamity level, during my recent 5-week vacation (yes, I know I am a lucky girl) the curriculum was circulated for College of William & Mary for a Family History Class 303, an advanced class I've been hoping for and now, August 1, it is already 'closed'. So I sent a begging-on-my-knees-crouched-low-letter and said I would STAND up if I have to in order to get into the class. For now, the crouch still hurts but my fingers will remain crossed until I get a RESPONSE! For now, I am still optimistic. And maybe I will soon hear from the Catholic Diocese in Madrid telling me where the birth, marriage, death documents are located in Spain for my trip... or maybe not. Still optimistic...