A Liaison in Hawaii

As I sit here in 102 degree heat (outside, not inside), my mind jumps to Aiea, Hawaii where my son is on holiday --- and hoping to call and/or meet my 2nd cousin, Victorina, better known as Victoria or Vic Gonzales Weber. I am hopeful they can connect --- a little piece of the missing relationship puzzle that my son is so interested in and wants to feel his own connection.

Earlier today, I attended a writer's workshop and was told Manuela's Petals should be classified as a Non Fiction Narrative. Since it is a blended Fiction / Non Fiction, it threw me a bit but it will help me decide if a small publisher or an agent and a small publisher would be better than self-publishing. I know that eBook publishing is taking the world by storm but had not realized eBook publishing jumped 202% in one year but traditional book publishing dropped 24% in the same year. After seeing a book proposal and the complexities within the pages, I jumped back to get my brain's marbles organized. Is it possible? Smiling here. Of course it is... it just won't be easy but I've heard somewhere that the best choices aren't always the smooth ones.

Since July 1, 2011, I have sent 7 request-for-information letters to various people regarding my SILVAN quest for family history. I'm like a little postal fairy waiting by the mail box or peeking in my email box every day. Liann is sending me a package of her mother's research from Washington state. Geri has sent me fabulous stories, documents, dates and pictures. I found a family tree of pictures my cousin, Tess, and I couldn't see beyond a postage stamp size and the lady was kind enough to send me BIG pictures and more than I asked for. Wow... people are wonderful.

But good news! Over the past couple of weeks, I received very good information and photographs from genealogical kindred spirits and I am related, albeit from afar. AND I asked for fish tacos at a Mexican restaurant yesterday in Spanish! "Quiero tacos de pescado por favor." And the man smiled and answered me in Spanish..."Si, Senora." On the way out, I snagged a free Hispanic newspaper to study, practice and read although I was sad to see the front page telling me Jennifer Lopez and her husband are separating... big picture and I read the caption and understood it. So, guess the good news was I understood it. The bad news was...well, the bad news.