Having only a few days left on earth, this earth, this particular earth, I feel like I have to maximize the way I use my time. This morning, after meeting with one of my parent’s neighbors about some work he needs to have done on his home, I drove to the birthplace of my family in the West; a little city called Yakima. My great-grandparents emigrated to Seattle from upstate New York in 1924. A year later they moved to Yakima.
A few decades after arriving here, the Derby family purchased the largest home in Yakima, a mansion called Rosedell. The Rosedell house was in the family until shortly after my great-grandmother died in 1983. Today it is a bed and breakfast which is run by a lady named Holly. Although I was too young to understand much of what took place in the days before Rosedell was sold to another family, I still have memories of reading Christmas songs off of sheet music in the parlor at the base of the stairs. 
The house is in good hands. The current owners have taken a real interest in the building and its history. This also means that they have taken an interest in the history of the three families who at one time owned the home, including mine. Holly was able to tell me some things I had not been previously aware of, which was both surprising and a source of delight. My roots are here, and now that I am going to have some face time with my grandmother, in her home town, I am certain that I will learn more about them and come to a greater appreciation of where I come from.
Tonight, for instance, I learned that both heart disease and uremic cancer run in my family. It is good to know where you come from. Written February 5th, modified February 6th.
albaniacalling 