I remember my Family Coat of Arms, which dates back to the Feudal Age of the Netherlands. Beneath the Coat of Arms is the Family Motto : Our Virtue Is Our Castle. (In Dutch, of course) I think that this does an excellent job of describing me. We guard our values to the death.
My original family sailed to the New Netherlands in the Seventeenth Century. They have slowly spread into every fabric of society such as medicine, military, government service, law, and charities. Although our name is not very prominent, The Van Voorhees Clan prides itself on working behind the scenes to bring about good for mankind.
My great-grandfather (paternal) was born in the South, if memory serves me Louisiana or Alabama. He moved to Ohio and became a pastor. He was very funny, but the reason I bring him up is because everyone in my family says that I am an exact replica of him. My mannerisms, sense of humor, interests, hobbies, they were all identical to a person who died almost exactly a year before I was born. My other unique atttatchment to him is through old cassette tapes. He believed that he should record all of the major life experiences as a mature adult so that others who never met him could know him. I am a little scared of listening to the tapes, due to the fact that we just discovered them recently in my attic, but I will listen to every one of them to see just how similar we really are.
My grandfather served in the CIA after his stay in the Marines during WWII. His brigade was set to attack the mainland of Japan to finally defeat the Imperialist Empire. They estimated that there would only be a 25% surivival rate. That means that there would have only been a 25% chance that I would be here today if we had not detonated the two nuclear weapons. The near 100,000 people that died could have spared another few hundred thousand American servicemen and their innumberable descendants. My grandfather (both of them) served in the military (my maternal grandfather as a weapons specialist in the NAVY) so I hold significant pride in our nation due to the sacrifices that they, and their forgotten comrades made to make this country what it is today.
My Dad spent his childhood travelling from Army Base to Base across the globe. He's an interesting dude, but he can be a little bit obnoxious at times. (not unusual for parents) Especially when he reminds me to do work he KNOWS I have to do, but I also KNOW that I'm not going to do it. All in all, though, I'm very lucky to have parents who can be nosy and try to find out what I'm doing, even if they fail miserably. Okay, enough out of me. See you all later!
|
