The reunion of tomorrow

Mark Twain quotations on death . . .

• Death is the starlit strip
  between the companionship of yesterday
  and the reunion of tomorrow.

  
  . . . on a monument erected to Mark Twain & Ossip Gabrilowitsch

  
  
• It has been reported that I was seriously ill --
  it was another man;
  dying -- it was another man;
  dead -- the other man again . . .
  As far as I can see,
  nothing remains to be reported,
  except that I have become a foreigner.
  When you hear it, don't you believe it.
  And don't take the trouble to deny it.
  Merely just raise the American flag
  on our house in Hartford
  and let it talk.

  
  . . . Letter to Frank E. Bliss, 11/4/1897

  
  

Remembering our cousin . . .
Samuel Langhorne Clemens
30 November 1835 ~ 21 April 1910

Texas Toasts

• "Texas, - May her foes turn pale at her name,
  and may she flourish until time is no more."
• "Soldiers of Texas; -
  May their "breast works" be honor,
  and fear always a days "march" behind them."

On April 21, 1837 -- one year after the Battle of San Jacinto -- a celebration was held in Liberty, Texas. The May 9, 1837 edition of the Telegraph and Texas Register newspaper (published in Houston, Texas) contained a write-up about that celebration. K K Searle posted the text of that article over at texas-history-page.blogspot.com. That blogpost is entitled Texas Toasts . . . make sure you go read the rest of the story . . .

Begotten and never forgotten

I can sense them calling out to me

From the gloaming of my past

"Please do not let us be forgot.

Record our stories that we may last."

From an original poem posted at .: BeNotForgot :. which was composed for Randy Seaver's Genea-Musings: Saturday Night Genealogy Fun - Poetry and Genealogy.

Graves of our fathers . . .

"Who are these graves we know not,

Only know they are our fathers."

From a post by . . . :: footnoteMaven :: . . . about an 1887 Guide to Genealogists on How To Write The History of a Family.

We are formed by our family histories

How easy it is to forget from where family has come and how far. How easy to forget, as I sit at my computer, my grandfather's battered lunch pail, and my grandmother leaning over an aluminum tub with a washboard and Grandpa's soapy shirt. Such knowledge brings humility. It demands gratitude. We are formed, in part, by our family histories. . . . from Family history is more than names by Tina Griego, Denver Post Columnist

Gossamer veil

On Easter Day
the veil
between time
and eternity
thins
to gossamer.

Douglas Horton

One thought of me

The following verse is from a 19th century friendship album that belonged to Berta Mary Henry nee Sharp (1873-1955)

Dear Berta

Fond Memory, come and hover o'er
This album page of my fair friend,
Enrich her from thy precious store,
And recollections send.

If on this page she chance to gaze
In years to come -- where'er she be --
Tell her of earlier happy days,
And bring her back one thought of me.

Nina Bowling

Penned with care

The following verse is from a 19th century friendship album that belonged to Berta Mary Henry nee Sharp (1873-1955)

Miss Berta

In the book of life
Gods album
May your name be
Penned with care
And may all who
Here have written
Write their names
Forever there.

Your friend
Russ