A Woman of Valor, A Woman of Strength

As an author in my own right, I have come to realize that if something is not written down or recorded it is lost to posterity sooner or later as those who remember the story die off one by one. Then the family loses its history and its lore and all that has gone before is virtually lost to future generations. In a fundamental and almost visceral sense, it is what humanizes us on this planet and gives us a sense of identity among billions and billions of other earthlike creatures like ourselves. Whether we like it or not, we all stand on the shoulders of generations of relatives gone by. We who are alive now are like the prism through which they shine into future generations. And this is not only true of our genes and our DNA in a physical or chemical sense, which we hand on to our children and grandchildren, it is also true of our customs and traditions, the stories that really and truly connect us to one another, the stories that connect us to past generations and generations yet to come in our family's lineage. I have seen this happen time and time again and grieved over by others who could have saved the day as it were by taking the time and making the effort to write down somewhere the tales, the stories, the anecdotes, the remembrances, of times gone by so that future generations can build on a lasting testament-much as Christians today continue the story began in the Book of Acts in the New Testament nearly two thousand years ago. That is one reason that I have taken the time and made the effort to record these stories for current and future members of our immediate and extended family simply because they are in danger of being lost. I wanted to rescue them and keep them alive for another day and another time so that those who come after us can remember and recollect the glorious and wonderful history that has gone before. It was the great Spanish philosopher and novelist, George Santayana, who said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to