6,000 Mile Update

VS

A few months ago, following my accident(s) on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, I decided to get a new car. Well, it has been nearly two months and over 6,000 miles since I made the leap from my repaired 2015 Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk to my 2016 Mercedes Benz GLC 300 4Matic and, so far, the results have been great. To do a direct comparison on every aspect of these vehicles would be a disservice to both the Jeep and the Mercedes so I am going to stick to some of the basics based on my experiences.

The hard numbers that we can compare side mostly with the Mercedes with the only exceptions being that of maintenance and fuel costs which are, not surprisingly, higher than that of the Jeep. However, Mercedes has a clear advantage in the other categories. To be specific, I averaged about 23.5 miles per gallon combined in the Cherokee over the course of about 22,000 miles. So far, the GLC is averaging about 27.5 miles per gallon combined over this initial 6,000 mile break in period. Basically, the difference in MPG wipes out, almost exactly, the additional cost of premium versus regular gas. With a bigger gas tank and about 60 more horsepower, the GLC has the clear advantage in both of those categories as well.

Now we are going to discuss the subjective aspects of the change from one car to the other. This really comes down to personal preference but, for me, the GLC definitely has a more comfortable ride which is to be expected given the two manufacturers. And since 90-95% of my driving is on the highway this is hugely important. But it is not just more comfortable for me behind the wheel, both my wife and my son have noticed a difference in how the car rides and how much more interior space we have in the GLC over the Cherokee. However, I will say that the Cherokee is a superior off road vehicle but, for me and my use, that really is a non-factor at this point.

Bear in mind that, while the perception of these two brands is completely different, when compared with nearly the same equipment in each (obviously the Mercedes has more things that are standard) the price difference is nominal, about $1,000-2,000 more for the GLC. Many of the dimensions are similar as well including height, width, clearance, and turning radius. Both are great cars but my preference is firmly with the GLC and, at this point, I would be hard pressed to switch to another brand in the future. Clearly, given the initial results and experiences, I would recommend the GLC to anyone looking for a midsized SUV.

Book Update: Finally, Some Progress!

One of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of the year was to pull together many of the collections of poems and essays that I have compiled over the years and publish them. I have considered this endeavor in the past but was never able to see it to the end. Well, over the past couple of months, I was finally able to see many of those projects come to fruition. It took some time, a considerable amount of energy, and a few dollars but I was finally able to get four books published through Author House.

The first book that I worked on was a collection of poems that I wrote as an undergraduate student at Endicott College. All of the poems in the collection were written at that time, many of them published both in literary journals and in a limited run I pulled together with a local print shop at the time titled Teaching A Stone To Talk: Nature Poems. I am still grateful for the help that I received from Carol Raiche for the formatting the modest book and putting me in touch with the printer.

Now, accompanied with photos taken over the past decade, these poems are once again available in the collection Paintings In Under A Thousand Words: Nature Poems.

Many of the poems found in these pages are all but memories of experiences that have colored my early life. Some see these moments as glimpses of a time past but I see them as paintings formed in slow deliberate strokes that highlight the details of life that instill the feeling of accomplishment when looking at your past. These images don't need the long drawn out descriptions laden with unnecessary letters, they are flashes quick to flood the mind and equally fast in fading back deep into the gray matter. This is why I see these poems, these memories of my encounters with nature, as paintings in under a thousand words.

The next book to be edited was a project that I started while at Endicott and which later served as my Master’s thesis at Rosemont College. The first sequence of poems was published previously both as individual poems in various literary journals and in my first official chapbook, Kaddish Diary, which was published in 2005 by Pudding House Publications. This small collection has long since been out of print and even one of the anthologies that included a couple of the poems has since gone out of print as well. In the years following the publication of the chapbook, I created two additional sequences based on two other works of holocaust literature. However, this collection also remained nearly forgotten on a flash drive for nearly a decade. Now, I have finally brought this project of passion to light in What Was Not Said: Echoes From The Holocaust.

The Holocaust is a subject all of us are aware of but there are countless accounts that are seldom heard. Based on the diaries, letters, and memoirs of Hertha Feiner, Janusz Korczak, and Filip Müller, these poems describe the life surrounding these writings. Every memoir has something missing. This is not a conscious decision by the author; it is the perspective of the writer filtered through the impermanence of memory. Sometimes it is a forgotten foreshadowing phrase said in passing or what is happening outside when their focus is on the room in which they are sitting. These are the aspects painted in this collection.

The next two collections will be quite familiar to many of you as they are collections of posts from this blog. The first of these books consolidated all of the genealogy posts and is really only the first of many that I expect on this topic. It highlights both the process and the discoveries that I have made over the years and includes many family photos and documents that many in the family may have not seen before. I am glad to finally be able to share many of these colorful leaves with the rest of the family in Out On The Limbs: Searching For Answers In The Family Tree.

This is collection which illustrates how one family tree can give shade to the entirety of American history. Each leaf has a little more to add to my family history just as each piece of fall foliage adds to an autumnal landscape. All different trees offering a different variety of colors but working in unison to tell the same story. These essays offer a cross section of topics which includes recent additions to my family tree, interesting resources or programs, and discoveries that have given greater depth to the lives of my ancestors.

The final project in this initial push is the one that means the most to me. Again, these are posts from the blog which spans the past year and a half. This time around, I collected all the posts about the pregnancy and my first year of fatherhood into a single volume. You could even say that this is a baby book taken to the next level. For me this book is a gift to my son and hopefully something that first time parents, especially fathers, will enjoy. After all, it does tell the reader about The Good, The Bad, And The Adorable: My First Year As A Father.

After my son was born I found myself having conversations with other parents about some of the interesting things that I should anticipate happening during the first year. I had not heard about any of these antidotes before and so I wanted to start writing more regularly about these usually humorous occurrences. Arranged chronologically, this book is a collection of both those early posts of doctor appointments and preparations for arrival as well as the more interesting moments that I experienced during my first year as a father.

Well, that is what has been keeping me busy over the last couple of months and partly why there have been times when I have fallen behind on these daily posts. There are other books that I am currently working on but that is a completely different post for another day. In the meantime, if you happen to read any of these books I would appreciate hearing your thoughts and, hopefully, they proved to be worth the purchase price. Four down and countless volumes to go!

Sunday Search: SAR Update

During the latter part of this past January, I finally sat down and pulled together my application and supplementary material to submit to the local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Since that time there have been many rounds of updates, revisions, and completing additional applications (and securing the appropriate documentation) for other family members. In all, five applications have now been submitted with more on the way once these initial memberships are approved. All of this work has been done while in direct contact with the state registrar who has been a tremendous asset throughout the process.

While it will still be approximately another two months before we hear back from the National Headquarters regarding our applications, I have remained quite busy during the wait pulling together the list of supplementary applications that I will be completing once my membership is approved. While this initial lineage is a line that is found on my father’s side, the next set of documents will be those from my mother’s side of the family. The hope is that I will have the information available to those family members who are interested in joining regardless of which side with whom I am speaking.

So, over the next year or two, I will be delving into the other lines that I have discovered thus far in my research. While there are many that I will be able to prove I am certain that there are some that are either incorrect or for which there is insufficient supporting documentation. However, I won’t find out until I am able to focus on each of the patriots below. While I am only confident about the first three I am sure that there will be endeavors that prove to be fruitful. So, here you go, this is the list of the patriots to whom I will be tracing my lineage:

• John Noblit, Private, 7^th Battalion, Chester County Militia; Suffered depredation.
• Thomas Noblit, Private, Chester County Militia, survived Battles of Chadds Ford and Brandywine.
• Jacob Duffordt, Virginia Patriotic Service, Provided supplies to the Continental Army
• Peter Rough/Rauch, 2^nd Battalion, Northampton County Pennsylvania Militia
• John Snider/Snyder, Corporal, Flying Camp Maryland Militia; Wounded at White Plains.
• George Michael Wilfong / Wildtfang, Virginia Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• John Cook, Private, Logan County Virginia Militia
• David Riggin, 2^nd Delaware Regiment
• Richard Payton Bailey, 15^th Virginia Regiment
• Robert Stinson, Massachusetts Patriotic Service, Committee to Produce Soldiers
• George Clapsaddle, Franklin County Pennsylvania Militia
• Johann David Von Nida, Virginia Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• Frederick Boyer, Philadelphia County Militia
• Thomas Brown, Private in Virginia Militia
• John Beverly, North Carolina Patriotic Service, Paid For Services
• William Terry, 3^rd and 5^th Virginia regiments
• Jacob Gery, 6^th Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia
• John Philip Mumbauer, Private, Bucks County Pennsylvania Infantry
• Johann Andreas Dressler (Andrew Tressler), 2^nd Battalion, Berks County Militia
• Johan Heinrich (Henry) Myers, 5^th Battalion, Lancaster County Pennsylvania Militia
• John Philip Negley, Private in Gray’s Pennsylvania Regiment
• John Norbeck, 1^st Battalion, Berks County Pennsylvania Militia
• John Phillip Young, 6^th Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia
• Rufus Cone, 7^th and 17^th Connecticut Regiments; Taken prisoner at the Battle of Long Island; Died aboard the prison ship off the coast.  
• George Philip Royer, 4^th Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia
• George Walker, Cumberland County Pennsylvania Militia
• Matthias Kerlin, Pennsylvania Patriotic Service, Paid Supply Tax
• John Sheaff, Private, 6^th Battalion, Chester County Pennsylvania Militia
• Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania Patriotic Service, Representative to Continental Congress
• Henry Melchoir Muhlenberg, Pennsylvania Patriotic Service, Patriot Minister

If you add in the application already submitted tracing back to John Redcross that makes for 31 ancestors that I will be researching. In addition to the history interest and family history that will certainly be uncovered during this endeavor, there is also a much more practical reason for not settling and submitting as many supplementary applications as I possibly can… verification. Many of the aforementioned names are recent discoveries and while there are many lines which I am confident that they are correct, there are some where the generational connections are tenuous at best.

However, overall, by submitting each of these lines and the supporting documents, I am able to have the research certified by and independent third party, the Sons of the American Revolution. In those instances where they are able to verify my findings, the family history just got that much stronger. All of the sudden, those branches which have been withering for decades, are once again vibrant and proving to be some of the more colorful contributors to the family foliage. And, just think, we will be able to pass this down to future generations and nearly ensure that our family history is not forgotten.

Sunday Search: SAR Update

As many of you may recall reading, I have been trying to find the time over the past few years to finally sit down, pull together all the documents, and submit my application to the local chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution. Of course, up until last week I hadn’t even reached out to the SAR to get additional information so that was the first step that I had to take. So, out of the blue, I looked up the local contact information and gave the chapter a call. After a very nice, informative, and welcoming conversation I received some sound advice as to how I should proceed the most important of which was to start with the ancestor that I can most easily prove.

My goal when I made the call was to get everything pulled together over the next several weeks, two weeks if I was lucky. This seemed to be an agreeable and manageable arrangement for both of us and I was encouraged to attend meetings in the meantime while I was finishing up my application. By the time we ended our conversation I already knew which ancestor made the most sense. While the documents that I have in my possession are not enough for the Monacan Indian Nation, they are more than enough prove to the SAR that I am a descendant of John Redcross.

Well, somehow I finally found the time to get it done and I was able to submit all 200+ pages to the local chapter for review. This past week has been a time to review the application that I submitted and, surprisingly, a time for the chapter genealogist to condense the documentation down to only the items needed. We really do have more than enough to prove our lineage and, at the same time, not enough. Now we can focus on finding that final piece so that we can submit the same material to the Monacan Nation.

It is a great feeling knowing that this is done and that after this it will be a matter of adding confirmed patriots to the family history. Heeding the advice of the SAR, now I am going to move to the next easiest to prove which happens to be on the other side of my family. While we once thought it impossible, I have been able to trace back my mom’s side to the Revolution as well and have the documentation to support the findings as well. It is nice to know that basically no matter which family member I am talking to I can help them join the SAR (or DAR).

However, the most important aspect to this whole process for me is that it is a means to verify the research that I have spent the last few years conducting. The more lines I can confirm and revolutionary ancestors I can trace back to, the more information in our tree I will be able to verify. Having had so many questions about the family history growing up, I am looking forward to sharing with the family a history that has been not only researched by certified as being accurate. And, one day, I look forward to sharing this history with my son.

Alumni Update

I received a few emails a couple of months ago from the Endicott Alumni Association asking for updates from my graduation class. It has been interesting reading the scattered responses and ever since the request came in I have been planning on sending an update. The problem has been that over the past decade there have been so many changes (heck, over the past year) that it is difficult to know where to start. Well, here is my attempt at providing a summary of what life has been like since I received my degree from Endicott College ten years ago…

It is hard to believe how quickly ten years can simply evaporate and I am sure that there are very few of you that were even close when you thought about where you would be as Dr. Wylie handed you your degree. I sure didn’t expect to be where I am today working as a PR Account Executive outside of Philadelphia focusing on the tech industry. I guess you never know where you will end up (especially for those of us who were English majors).

So, how did I get here? With my degree in hand I returned home to the Philadelphia suburbs, published some work in a few literary journals, magazines, anthologies, and pulled everything together in a short collection of poetry which was released by Pudding House Publications. Local readings followed including one at a local Barnes & Noble where I met my wife. After a year away from academia, I couldn’t help myself and soon enrolled in the MFA program at Rosemont College. While studying at Rosemont I was also pursuing a greater spiritual endeavor which led me to my conversion to Judaism a month before receiving my graduate degree.

Here is where things really started getting hectic. That same summer I was offered a Business Writer position at a PR firm in midtown Manhattan. By the fall of 2008 I was living in Brooklyn riding the F train to work every morning. By the spring I found myself in a difficult position as my Fibromyalgia was getting the better of me forcing me to take some time off before my wedding in June. My wife and I were married in Philadelphia in June of 2009 and spent over a week in Jerusalem with a couple of days in London tacked on at the end. It was a life changing trip that followed a life changing event.

Now living in Metuchen, New Jersey, and with my Fibromyalgia in mysterious remission, that fall I was faced with the reality of a diabetes diagnosis. It was a moment that made us assess what we really wanted to do with our lives. The following summer, after visiting Endicott and showing my wife the beauty of the campus, my wife and I started on another adventure that would take us back to the Middle East. A year later, in July 2011, my wife and I made Aliyah. However, some things aren’t meant to be and we soon after found ourselves returning back to the United State (although we will always be Israelis). This would later prove to be a 

2012 was a difficult year having moved back to the Philadelphia area, Bala Cynwyd to be exact, to be close to family and, by doing so, putting our careers on hold. It was tough working overnight shifts, living paycheck to paycheck, and watching our debt slowly climb but we made it through that tough time and we both found ourselves back on track in the professions we are truly passionate about by the fall of 2013. This tough time also afforded us the opportunity, the freedom if you will, to explore much of Pennsylvania as well as get involved in a few local community organizations. It was during this time when I became both a Rotarian (former President Elect) and a Mason (currently serving my second year as Secretary). And given the monotony of the hourly position I held, I was also able to start a daily blog, Time To Keep It Simple, to which I continue posting on a daily basis. Finally, it gave us the time to explore our roots as we worked to pull together the dispersed details of our family trees and finding out where we come from and exploring the details of each generation. Again, this is something that we still enjoy doing when we have the time.

There are a lot of other things that have happened in the 10 years since I walked through the door of Trexler Hall one final time but I have already written more than you were probably expecting to read (if you even made it this far). So I will end things rather simply. Today, my wife and I are doing our best to enjoy every minute that we have with our eight month old son. We live a bit further from the city than our previous places of residence, but we are still close enough to see our families on a regular basis. We are busy, sometimes too much so, but we are happy. It has been a busy decade but I am sure it will pale in comparison to the decade that is unfolding before us.

Sunday Search: Exploring The New Ancestry

It has now been some time since I updated my ancestry.com account to the new format. I was a little hesitant to do so as I felt I was just starting to really get a handle on the old site. Besides, what would I really get out of the new format if I wasn’t able to find everything that I wanted? But, not having the time that I used to have to comb through the digital volumes that I once had and getting tired of the constant requests to upgrade, I finally just decided to go ahead and make the change. After all, the constant promotions promised an enhanced experience far superior to the supposedly antiquated site that I had been using so let’s see what all the fuss is about.

Well… there isn’t much difference between the old site and the new one. At least, nothing significant that I have noticed in my occasional browsing through files, searching for documents, and skimming across the vast family tree that I have constructed. While I can clearly see the shiny new layer of digital shellac, where is the revolutionary change in functionality? It was really a letdown when the new site was laid out before me on the computer screen.

With that said, there is one minor feature that I particularly enjoy but it isn’t anything that will rock the genealogy world. While I am constantly cognizant of the world and sometimes local events that took place during the lifetime of my ancestor, ancestry now has those historical reminders integrated into each family member’s timeline. And I have to admit that it is helpful from time to time having those simple reminders clearly displayed on the screen.

Other than that, I haven’t come across anything that is making things easier or more interesting… of course, my family history is already deeply fascinating so it would be hard to enhance that. At the same time as the update were occurring, ancestry.com kept making more and more collections available for search… these have been more useful than the prettier package that the website is now offering. This is what made me think, what if they put their money and effort into making more documents available rather than redesigning the website? How much more data would we all have access to? What could we have already discovered?

That is, first and foremost, where the focus should always be not on how fancy the site looks but what information the site contains. So I ask ancestry.com to spend those membership dollars on data not on spit and polish. After all, the reason why we give you our hard earned money is to learn more about our family not the fanciness of the page framing the digital document.

House Hunting Update

Since my wife and I first started looking at houses (both online and in person) we have seen all different kinds of properties. Actually, maybe not all different kinds but a diverse range of quality, various prices (all within our pre-qualified range), and built at different times. It has been an experience and an education throughout. While there are a few things that now have on our checklist when walking through a property, I will say that this process has been a heck of a lot easier having a great realtor working for us (who just so happens to also be a brother).   

I guess the first thing that has been driven home again and again for us is that price doesn’t mean quality. Some of the houses that we walked through which were at the top of our range had some great features but there were a number of things that left a lot to be desired. At the same time, those houses well below our max budget may not have had some of the fantastic features but they were generally solid all around. So far all a higher price has meant is that the highlights will be there but they will also accentuate the shortfalls.

In many of those instances with the higher priced homes the biggest issue was found in the basement. This is why you must always look in the basement and study the walls of the foundation and the structure surrounding you in all six directions. There were a few houses that we considered putting offers in after having walked through the house but that thought quickly evaporated once we saw the large cracks and chunks missing from the foundation walls (and these houses were only 10-15 years old).

It just goes to show that you have to always look beyond the façade. Not considering the basic structure and foundation of the house but also looking past unfortunate paint selections and minor things that can be fixed within a couple hours over the weekend. While the former will prevent you from making the mistake of buying, the latter may prevent you from making the mistake of walking away.

However, the most important thing that we are constantly reminding ourselves during this long process is that just because it is a nice property doesn’t mean it is the right house for us. We have seen many properties both physically and virtually that would be great fits for people we know but they would never be something that we could call home. It is a long process that requires patience and persistence. And, in the end, I keep saying to myself that right now these are just houses. When we find the right one and move in then it will be a home.

Progress And Questions

Don't let this be your last question!

With the notice having gone out at the beginning of the week, I felt much better heading down to the main line to take care of a few things before the stated meeting this Thursday. I got to the lodge a little later than usual last night having had to run a few errands after work. By the time I arrived, the lights were on, the doors unlocked, and the brethren were already hard at work moving a few of the heavier items out of the kitchen. As soon as I walked into the small space I knew the best thing that I could do is stay out of the way and sort through the freshly collected mail.

The kitchen has been the primary lodge improvement project while we have been away during the summer and things seem to be progressing nicely. Actually, the space is looking completely different having been gutted, painted, and upgraded thanks to many of the brothers who have campaigned tirelessly to get the work done. It is the first of many on a long list of improvements that need to be made and, thankfully, the trustees have a schedule already formed as to when all the items will be checked off the list.

Once the heavy lifting was completed, I was finally able to catch up with a few of the brethren whom I haven’t seen all summer. We have all been at the lodge at various times but never at the same time until last night. There was a long list of things that we needed to talk about and it was nice to finally have the time to discuss many of the situations that we dealt with throughout the summer. This was also a time that afforded me the opportunity to discuss some potential projects with brothers who know what the heck they are doing rather than someone (me) who doesn’t have the background to go beyond the idea stage. This is only the latest of such situations/conversations.

And this is something that we sometimes lose sight of during the course of the year. The brothers with whom we spend time with every month (or every week) are not just family, they are professionals from all different lines of work. While certainly far from the focus of our fraternity, it is important to remember that there are always brothers with different experiences, occupations, backgrounds, and training who are willing to help no matter if it is personal, work, or lodge related. All you have to do is ask. Sound familiar?

Alumni Updates

They even changed the logo within the past 10 years. 

Over the past several months I have been receiving regular communications from my Alma mater, Endicott College. Since it has now been a decade since I graduated from the New England school, the alumni association is obviously ramping up efforts to bring everyone back for the ten year reunion. While the emails and mailings have been plentiful to the point of becoming borderline annoying, it has at least been a welcomed change from the frequent request for donations.

Obviously, with all the changes that have happened recently and the plans that we have already scheduling for the summer month, we will not be driving up to Massachusetts and the beautiful coastal campus this year. Thankfully, we made the trip just 5 years ago for our one year anniversary and so I was at least able to show my wife were I spent four years of my life. At some point we will bring our son up there and show him around too.

While I may not be able to attend, that doesn’t mean that I cannot reconnect (or in some cases connect) with many of those who finished their undergraduate experience the same day I did. In-between correspondences from the college, I got an email from a former classmate addressed to all of those a decade removed from their North Shore education. It was an invitation to offer an update and share it with everyone included on the email chain. While I didn’t know many of other students beyond the classroom, preferring the poets and professors around me, it has been interesting reading many of the updates.

It is interesting to read where people have ended up and the experiences that they have had since leaving college. While not nearly as interesting as those I have read but, so far, more interesting than those who have yet to write anything, I look forward to sharing my own update at some point within the next week. Basically, it all boils down to a simple timeline since that warm May day: published a book (and other pieces in magazines), graduate school, conversion, met my wife and got married, various jobs, moving to various places, writing, lodge, and starting a family. I think that pretty much covers everything.

So now that I have a basic template all I need to do is find the time to write the email. Of course, that will have to wait until I get over the fact that it has already been 10 years when the memories of my time there are still so vivid. I guess great memories stay with us longer than we realize.

Stop The Timer!

Last week my wife and I had some time off for Rosh Hashanah and while I would have preferred to spend the day in reflection of the previous year and planning for the upcoming changes there were other things that had to be done. It is just one of those times that we had to take advantage of the time that we had and make sure that certain things got done. It had already been too long and we weren’t left with any other option. Finally, we were going to have access to our entire apartment as, after two and a half months, the work to ‘fix’ the leak was done. Albeit a halfhearted budget cut remedy, it was done.

In the middle of the afternoon, one of the guys from the building came over with the carpet cleaner, filled the reservoir with tap water and dish soap (the building refuses to pay for carpet cleaner) and proceeded to take his time going over the 6x6 area in the corner of our living room. In the past the building had brought in professional cleaners when there was a leak in the office but things have obviously changed. This time it took half a dozen letters to management, countless stops at the front desk, two work from home days, a day off, and more patience than I thought I had to make sure that the work was complete but it was finally done.

This process pretty much epitomizes the drastic changes that have occurred since my wife and I first moved into the building in late 2011. Nearly half of the apartments in the building have been bought and sold, the board has been completely overhauled, management has been outsourced, and only a handful of staff remains from the time our first lease began. One positive is that the only thing that hasn’t changed is our rent.

While the apartment has served its purpose, things have changed so drastically that it no longer fits our needs. This would be the case even if nothing had changed and the ‘luxury’ tag that people like to plaster onto the building actually meant something. And while things are holding together at the moment I am constantly thinking and worrying about that which is on the other side of the ceiling tiles and behind the surface of the walls. Having lived in, worked for, and knowing the guys still dealing with the various issues on a daily basis, I know what condition the building is in and it leaves me very uncomfortable. But, right now, I am happy that the work is ‘done’ and that we finally have access to our entire apartment!