angle schmangle

Well it's looking like that ever illusive angle is not going to make itself known anytime soon.

To pass the time during the block I'm using the other parts of my brain...webmistress, genealogist, timewaster, etc. I haven't quite jumped back into my personal genealogical research but I have spent the last few days trying to find anyone related to Ruth Warren Pavelock of Beacon NY. I'm not related to her but I would like to pass along some family history/ephemera to her family. Hopefully someone that will appreciate it for what it is. Hopefully not the person that sold it at the garage sale that started it's journey to me. A lot of people find these sorts of things and immediately start adding up in their head what they could get on eBay for someone else's crumbling memories. I, on the other hand, have this overwhelming urge to buy the stuff and return it to family members that might not even realize it was gone. I bought a cool 60s baby book in a book store years ago. The person who had owned it filled in the first few pages with info about the family in Port Huron, Michigan (I'll never forgot the town). There were no photos of the baby, but their were a few "firsts" listed in the back - first step, first tooth, you get the picture. I felt I had to find the owner. The family might have lost it during a move many years ago, or accidentally donated it to a church rummage sale, or - oh my god - maybe something happened to the kid and they couldn't bare to keep it. All manner of nonsense was running through my head. Why would someone just dispose of such a piece of family history, albeit incomplete. I just knew I had to track them down.

This was before the days of Googling someone, so I had to make several phone calls to track down the grandfather in Port Huron. After he finally realized I wasn't crazy he gave me his daughter's phone number...she lived about 10 miles from me. I called her and let her know that I had the baby book. She seemed quite puzzled as to why someone would track her down to give her something she had obviously tossed into a garage sale lo those many years before. She said she'd forgotten about it and would be glad to buy it back. I told her I would give it to her and asked where I should send it. When I realized she was so close I told her I could drop it off at her home. This sounds absolutely crazy to me now as I type it, but hey, it was the early '90s. Things were different then, right? But I digress.

The lady was very cordial and invited me in. I sat in the doilie-laden living room and proceeded to tell her AND the grown version of the baby in the book why I had contacted them. I'm sure they thought I was crazy. The mom insisted I take $5 for my trouble. I normally would just leave the cash but I think I took it this time. Hey, the cost of the book, long distance calls, gas (even at 1992 prices)...the expenses were starting to add up.

So back to my search for a family member of Mrs. Ruth Warren Pavelock of Beacon, New York. Words to the wise...if I buy something that remotely resembles a piece of family history, photos, and the like and your name or that of a family member is somewhere in or on it...you will probably be getting an e-mail or a call from me.

the angle

So I've wrapped my little corner of the Florida Film Festival and now I'm back to the reality of what to do next. I dust off my "Projects" binder and start flipping through. I keep coming back to my pet project, about which I've decided to divulge nothing - don't want to jinx it!

Everybody thinks the subject matter is fantastic and but all have the same question, "what's the angle?". I know it's staring me in the face, but I still can't see it. Back to the crosswords to relax my brain and await the angle.