Family Homestead.

  My sister tells me that this was the Norwegian  homestead of the Norwegian part of the family mot very far from the time emigration.

I Never Met Him

Joseph Carroll Sheehan was my paternal grand father. He was born in1885 and died in 1940. He lived five years longer than did his son, my father. He married Josephine S. Helwick my paternal grand mother. I am pleased that I did meet her. Josephine's and Joseph's children included; Carroll Joseph, my father; Eleanor,  Winifred, and Cliff, his youngest.

Joseph Carroll's father was Mago William Sheehan and his mother was Mary J. Carroll. Mary and Mago were then, my paternal great grand parents. My grand father Joseph's siblings included James W., Margret C., John B., Thomas F., Martin, Kate, Edward Michael,  and Robert Emmett.

I am always pleased to hear anything about or tentatively about any of these people. I thank my sister, Gerry Hook for much of what I do know of them.

Beginning A New Year

Happy 2012!

I thought that this trip post was already on line! 

In bringing 2011 to a close, I visited friends and family. I doing so I touched on the following states: Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and just a bit of Tennessee. It included my first look at Saint Louis in a long time.

It has been good to travel in the US again. It is a bit insulating to travel on our great interstates, and it is amazing to see great cargo trucks traveling 80 mph and more on them!

I left the Clute/Lake Jackson area on Texas highway 35 going southwest along the Gulf coast to Corpus Christi(body of Christ). I had just had a great visit with my long time friend Dr. D. From Corpus I traveled north westish up interstate 37 to state 72 near Three Rivers, Texas. I passed through Fowlerton and Los Angeles on the way to Cotulla on interstate 35.

Many Texans are learning differences between frac-water and fresh water. Frac-water is sometimes called brine there. Still I haven't been able to find one one Texan who can tell me the recipe for Frac-water. I also have not found out why used frac-water is hidden away beneath the earth and not reused.

From Cotulla I somehow jogged over to federal highway 83 and drove north on it to interstate 10. Found the drive up 83 particularly as, by the way, I did the drive down state 35.

I took interstate 10 to Fort Stockton on U.S. federal highway 285. Fort Stockton was, I believe, one of those places from which Civil War veterans shot Indians for the good of the Republic. For Lancaster, a bit farther east, was another of those places. I believe that both of those forts were built along what had been majore Indian trade routes. We may have once called that route The Old Chihuahua Trail, a name that that probably came to us from the Spanish.

Took 285 to Roswell New Mexico. The only possible aliens I saw around Roswell were some Middle East looking guys in skull caps. The had run out of gas and some good Samaritans were helping them. Tourists might be a better name than aliens.

Drove federal highway from Roswell to Las Cruces and found it a very pleasant drive. Among other pleasant sights, it took me through my first pines with snow of this winter.

Las Cruces has grown enormously; not all that growth has been for the better. From Las Cruces I took interstate through Tucson, Arizona to the junction with interstate 8. Took 8 to Yuma and into California to 86, 62 and home. I passed through some parts of Yuma I had not seen in a long time. I detected an amount of drug and gang activity that, for some reason, surprised me.  Still, I found the people kind and helpful, which surprised some people there.

It's good to be home. Joshua Tree and my little house here seem to have fared well in my absence.

Thank you to the people of each of the States I touched. Thank you too to Rex, Dennis, Gerry, Ron, Gloria, and Debra. A great 2012 to all, including the Maya.

Gerry's Genealogy

Gerry's Genealogy

My sister's genealogy sites may help you to figure out who I am; should you be interested.

You can get to one of them by clicking the link above and from there get to her other site.

Checking out the sites could help you learn about genealogy.

You could begin to learn a bit more about your family.

We could be related!

Learn from One Another

I have been thinking about us.


Lots of things about us have come to mind. Learning has come up most. Thoughts of instruction, education, and teaching have arisen.I've thought of ways of knowing and understanding.


I have consciously and unconsciously resisted learning from time to time. Most often I have been pleased to learn, pleased to be taught. I think that often man of us would be pleased to learn, to be taught, to be educated, to be instructed.


We desire the power, the knowledge, the understanding, the skill.


Many a husband could learn to better educate his wife about a thing or two. I think that he could learn to do it in a way his wife found acceptable, perhaps even a pleasure. I am sure that a father has a skill he can help his child to develop. The child would love to receive the father nurtured skill.


A wife can find an area in which her wants instruction. She is capable of learning to instruct him in a way that honors him. A mother can learn to teach her child something in a way that is pleasing to her and to the child.


A father and a mother can learn to more appropriately applaud a child's respectful attempt to help a sibling learn.


A family member might learn to encourage a grandparent to share skill or knowledge wit another family member.


You have some willingness to learn, so do I.


Like brothers and sisters we can help each other to the power, knowledge, understanding, and skill.

Family and Friends

I seem not to show much appreciation for my friends and family. Still I do think of Bridget, Gerry, and others with fondness and respect.