Legacy

“IF WE could first know where we are, and whither we are tending, we could better judge what to do, and how to do it.” Abraham Lincoln before the State Republican Convention,
June 16, 1858

Who we are as individuals is intricately shaped by the generations that precede us, whether or not we realize it. Parent to child, to grandchild, to great-grandchild, and so forth, the strengths and weaknesses that mark and define us are taught to us by our forebears and passed down through our children.

     This book is a summation of my family’s history; the individuals, the countries, the myths, the legacy. The book is broken down into “family groups,” which are based on the surnames of my direct grandparents: CACCIA, EMRICK, MORRIS, and SAMOUR. Since there is individual crossover, whereby some names will belong in more than one family group, they are listed under their surname to reduce duplication. Birth or adopted surnames are typed in all capital letters to show lineage and married names are shown in regular sentence case. Wherever possible, I have included personal essays or autobiographies from the individual family members and any memories about individuals from either family members or friends.

Purpose

“…soon we shall die and all memory…will have left the earth, and we ourselves shall be loved for a while and forgotten. But the love will have been enough; all those impulses of love return to the love that made them. Even memory is not necessary for love. There is the land of the living and the land of the dead and the bridge is love, the only survival, the only meaning.” The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder

Too often, families grow apart and lose track of each other. The intention of this book is to preserve the memory and love of my family and its heritage in an easy to read format rather than an impersonal flowchart. Although birth, death, and marriage dates are important to any family history, they are used only as a frame of reference during the family background. A listing of names and dates is outlined at the end of each family group in as much detail as possible.

Just a thought…

The Dash

I read of a man who stood to speak at the funeral of his friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone from the beginning…to the end.
He noted that first came the date of her birth and spoke of the second with tears,
But he said that what mattered most of all was the dash between those years.
For that dash represents all the time that she spent alive on earth,
And now only those who loved her know what that little line is worth.
For it matters not, how much we own; the cars, the house, the cash.
What matters is how we live and love and how we spend our dash.
So think about this long and hard, are there things you’d like to change?
For you never know how much time is left. You could be at “dash mid-range.”
If we could just slow down enough to consider what’s true and what’s real,
And always try to understand the way other people feel
And…be less quick to anger and show appreciation more
And love the people in our lives like we’ve never loved before.
If we treat each other with respect, and more often wear a smile,
Remembering that his special dash might only last a little while.
So when your eulogy is being read with your life’s actions to rehash…
Would you be pleased with the things to say about how you spent your dash?

By an unknown author