I'm reminded of this because yesterday, Christmas, I had an event to go to that went from about noon until 2 PM, and then another that started at about 6 PM. As a result, I had four hours to "kill" because I didn't want to turn it around and commute home, only to pit stop and go out again. I had a small suitcase and my dog and her carrier with me. For some reason I thought McDonalds was open on Christmas and headed there on foot, only to find it locked up, as it should be, I suppose.
I rarely eat at McDonalds but I do like their basic coffee, not too fancy or expensive. The McDonalds I go to has an outdoor area that is OK for tying up the dog, clean bathrooms (always a plus), and is forgiving about hanging out. I've been in there a number of times with my dog in her carrier; she sleeps in it and no one has questioned it.
So we crossed the street and walked to a Starbucks, a small shop that was open. The wind was kicking up and though my dog had on a sweater and I had on leggings under my slacks and layered tops and a hat to keep me warm, I didn't like the idea of sitting outside there for a couple hours. I also didn't like the price on their basic coffee which was more than double that of McDonald's. I went in and asked if I could bring the dog in, in her carrier, and the talk of making a "special exception" was a turn off. What if she were a service dog? I wasn't asked.
At this point we had walked a mile easy. There were some people sitting waiting for buses on the main street. A man without a coat or hat in a wheel chair rode over to me and asked "Do you know anywhere there's food?" He meant free food. Actually I did know a place that was having a potluck. A friend who is a member of AA told me they were having an inclusive event, no need to go to a meeting or be a member. I told him how to get there.
My dog and I continued to walk to an old shopping district that was mostly closed up. As we went we saw so many people who were clearly homeless on the street, bundled up.
Each and every one of them has a life story.
Each and every one of them was born to parents, alive or dead now, and was or is part of a family.
We found a small, old, independent coffee house open there. No problem about my dog in her carrier. We walked in and ordered a tea, then found a table to share. Though there were some writers on lap tops sitting here and there and there was a television on, there were also obviously homeless people sleeping sitting up. God Bless the owner. He decided that he would "see how it goes" before making a decision to close up at 7 PM.
I told the clerk I would be hanging out, waiting for a ride to a party, and he nodded. He had probably heard and seen it all. I tried to keep busy. I did a little list making, this and that, but mostly I felt bored and lonely. I texted the friend who was having the party to let her know where I was. Shortly she sent a relative over to pick me up around 5:30, as their location is high up and a bit obscure. When he walked in, it was as if the others were startled. When he walked in, what I told them all, that I was just there waiting, turned out to be true.
The party was wonderful. Possibly one of the best Christmas evenings I've had, and it was so good to be surrounded by other people who were also enjoying themselves in a beautiful home that was welcoming and warm. My dog fell asleep under a table, after I mixed some stew meat in with her kibble.
And so I was thinking about Mary and Joseph, and no room at the inns.
About Jesus being laid into a manger (a cow feed bin) after his birth.
Exhausted travelers on a budget far from home, on foot, not quite homeless as we know it to be now.
C 2018 Ancestry Worship Genealogy BlogSpot All Rights Reserved
26 December 2018
08 December 2018
THE WALMART CHRISTMAS SHOPPING NIGHTMARE and THOSE DNA TESTS
The holidays as they are celebrated these days add more stress to family life.
I was thinking about this today because I had to go to Walmart. Yes it had to be Walmart. I had not been in one since last fall. But I went. The place was total confusion. Parents clutching fairy light sets and stacks of toys. Children running around undisciplined - maybe they lost their parents an hour ago? Greeters not allowed to leave their post to help you get a cart.
As is usual, it was near impossible to find an employee on the sales floor at all. I asked one about the pricing of some items that were unmarked and she told me to go scan for the price myself. And she was on her cell phone. As was the security guard. The line for less than 20 items was around and down an isle. Half way to what I thought was a register I learned I was in the line to check myself out. This company makes so much money, and they pay badly enough that employees have to get government help for food and shelter and a cashier was replaced by this check yourself out. I refused so I went into another line. What could I have been thinking when I went shopping at all for the holidays? There were things on my list that I could have also bought at Walmart, but I got out of there rather than look through picked over departments where things went unstocked or were disorganized. I once worked retail. There used to be pride in retail. More and more do it yourself at discount places.
One of the things I didn't find out was if Walmart is, like CVS, and some other places, stocking discounted DNA tests. CVS sells kits for determining parenthood as well as DNA heritage.
I bring this up because I got a call about helping someone actually figure out what their results meant.
Someone else used two different companies and got different results from each. What could that mean?
So here goes:
DNA test results are statistical analysis using a pool of candidates; the other people who also turned in their results to that particular company. Overall, the more people who contribute and are part of the statistics, the "better" or more accurate the results when it comes to ethnicity. Even then, ethnicity is rather a broad term because we are just starting to understand how it is that people migrated, how they bred. Overall, more males migrated than females due to their roles - gender assigned. For instance, more men were explorers, travelers, traders, in armies, in crusades. Sometimes a man settled somewhere other than where he was born and raised. (There were also army camp followers who were women - wives, prostitutes, nurses, but you get the idea here.) If you look at some of the websites that attempt to show the statistics using other kinds of charts - such as maps - you will see that the zones spread out. Also, be aware that as time goes on, there may be discoveries of DNA that is identified with different codes. When you look at any article or map or statistical analysis of DNA results, try not to read anything more than a year or so old. Really. Right now even the Out of Africa theory has a challenge.
Someone "reminded" me that we are all out of Africa.
It's usually someone who wants to "remind" others not to be prejudiced against people who appear Black.
There is more DNA variation in African Black people than anywhere else.
However, ethnicity is considered a fairy recent invention by anthropologists.
C 2018 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot
I was thinking about this today because I had to go to Walmart. Yes it had to be Walmart. I had not been in one since last fall. But I went. The place was total confusion. Parents clutching fairy light sets and stacks of toys. Children running around undisciplined - maybe they lost their parents an hour ago? Greeters not allowed to leave their post to help you get a cart.
As is usual, it was near impossible to find an employee on the sales floor at all. I asked one about the pricing of some items that were unmarked and she told me to go scan for the price myself. And she was on her cell phone. As was the security guard. The line for less than 20 items was around and down an isle. Half way to what I thought was a register I learned I was in the line to check myself out. This company makes so much money, and they pay badly enough that employees have to get government help for food and shelter and a cashier was replaced by this check yourself out. I refused so I went into another line. What could I have been thinking when I went shopping at all for the holidays? There were things on my list that I could have also bought at Walmart, but I got out of there rather than look through picked over departments where things went unstocked or were disorganized. I once worked retail. There used to be pride in retail. More and more do it yourself at discount places.
One of the things I didn't find out was if Walmart is, like CVS, and some other places, stocking discounted DNA tests. CVS sells kits for determining parenthood as well as DNA heritage.
I bring this up because I got a call about helping someone actually figure out what their results meant.
Someone else used two different companies and got different results from each. What could that mean?
So here goes:
DNA test results are statistical analysis using a pool of candidates; the other people who also turned in their results to that particular company. Overall, the more people who contribute and are part of the statistics, the "better" or more accurate the results when it comes to ethnicity. Even then, ethnicity is rather a broad term because we are just starting to understand how it is that people migrated, how they bred. Overall, more males migrated than females due to their roles - gender assigned. For instance, more men were explorers, travelers, traders, in armies, in crusades. Sometimes a man settled somewhere other than where he was born and raised. (There were also army camp followers who were women - wives, prostitutes, nurses, but you get the idea here.) If you look at some of the websites that attempt to show the statistics using other kinds of charts - such as maps - you will see that the zones spread out. Also, be aware that as time goes on, there may be discoveries of DNA that is identified with different codes. When you look at any article or map or statistical analysis of DNA results, try not to read anything more than a year or so old. Really. Right now even the Out of Africa theory has a challenge.
Someone "reminded" me that we are all out of Africa.
It's usually someone who wants to "remind" others not to be prejudiced against people who appear Black.
There is more DNA variation in African Black people than anywhere else.
However, ethnicity is considered a fairy recent invention by anthropologists.
C 2018 Ancestry Worship - Genealogy BlogSpot
05 December 2018
ALMANACH DE GOTHA as MATCHMAKING BIBLE?
Excerpted from the book Tying the Knot - A World History of Marriage by Amber J. Keyser
EXCERPT: OLD STYLE MATCH.COM
Between 1763 and 1944, European nobles looking for a marriage partner could consult a reference book called the Almanach de Gotha. Originated by a German chaplain in the city of Gotha, the book sorted and ranked all members of European noble families in great detail. Families used the book to determine which matches were acceptable. Specifically, marriage partners were supposed to be of the same rank - that is, a duke was supposed to marry the daughter of a duke, not the daughter of a man of lower rank. If a man did choose a lower-ranked wife, he entered into what was called a left hand marriage. During the wedding ceremony, he held the bride's right had with his left hand instead of the traditional right hand.
In 1998 a British company issued a new edition of the Almanach de Gotha, but critics noted that it was sloppily written. And even though some Europeans still inherit titles of nobility, these titles are mostly symbolic, For instance, the United Kingdom still has a queen, princes, dukes, earls, and other nobles, but they no longer run the country. Instead, citizens of the United Kingdom vote for their leaders. Since its no longer necessary to maintain power by marrying into another royal family, European noble no longer have reason to consult the Almanach de Gotha.
EXCERPT: OLD STYLE MATCH.COM
Between 1763 and 1944, European nobles looking for a marriage partner could consult a reference book called the Almanach de Gotha. Originated by a German chaplain in the city of Gotha, the book sorted and ranked all members of European noble families in great detail. Families used the book to determine which matches were acceptable. Specifically, marriage partners were supposed to be of the same rank - that is, a duke was supposed to marry the daughter of a duke, not the daughter of a man of lower rank. If a man did choose a lower-ranked wife, he entered into what was called a left hand marriage. During the wedding ceremony, he held the bride's right had with his left hand instead of the traditional right hand.
In 1998 a British company issued a new edition of the Almanach de Gotha, but critics noted that it was sloppily written. And even though some Europeans still inherit titles of nobility, these titles are mostly symbolic, For instance, the United Kingdom still has a queen, princes, dukes, earls, and other nobles, but they no longer run the country. Instead, citizens of the United Kingdom vote for their leaders. Since its no longer necessary to maintain power by marrying into another royal family, European noble no longer have reason to consult the Almanach de Gotha.
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