Watchin' the detectives

No, ye socks, yours truly is NOT referring to that great old Elvis Costello tune. Rather, Monday evening finds PBS premiering the latest season of "History Detectives" in this little corner of heaven.

They're going to be exploring an odd map of Iwo Jima, exploring the roots of a copperhead cane, and introducing more than a few folks (I suspect) to an odd instrument called a "Theremin."

More details at the show's website: http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/

Faces of America

Allow yours truly to encourage ye socks out there with any interest in genealogy and genetics to tune in to tonight's premiere of Dr. Henry Louis Gates' new PBS series "Faces of America."

While most of you probably only know Dr. Gates for his participation in that ridiculous White House beer summit last year, he previously produced two great seasons of "African American Lives." That series explored roots, too, just focused solely on African Americans. But, this series examines the family trees of a dozen notable people of diverse backgrounds.

Hopefully, the show will live up to the hype!

Mystery, thy name is Arthur.

OK, I'm starting to freak out a little, and here's why.

1. It's the first official day of the 2008 hurricane season, and we already have a named storm: ARTHUR.

2. In cleaning up the attic of the Elizabeth Avenue house, I found an old framed picture of my Uncle ARTHUR.

3. I got a call on my cell phone, but didn't recognize the number and let it go to voice mail. When I checked the message, it was from some guy I don't know named ARTHUR.

4. I got a DVD in the mail from blockbuster.com, and it's about King ARTHUR. (Starred Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley, actually very good.)

5. In boxing up old paperwork at ye Lake Hammer Chalet, I came across an old check I never deposited from an old college buddy whose first name is ARTHUR.

6. Flipping thru channels today, I stumbled across a PBS show on King ARTHUR.

7. I quickly changed the channel and found myself watching the Golden Girls. Then, I really started freaking out. If you remember, the cast is headed by Bea ARTHUR!!!!

What could all this mean, I wonder?!?

A great genealogy program on PBS

This one kept me up way past my bedtime for a typical work night, but it was well worth it. It is entitled "African American Lives 2," by Harvard history professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

The 2 is added to the end of the title, because he put out a similar program last year. But, that one focused only on media maven Opra Winfrey.

This latest production weaves twelve different family tales that actually transcend race and geography. They include, besides Dr. Gates' discoveries about his own roots:

Linda Johnson Rice - CEO of a media empire that includes "Ebony" and "Jet" magazines, who receives evidence of why her father left Arkansas for Chicago as a young man.

Don Cheadle - The actor is shocked to discover his ancestors were enslaved not by white plantation owners but by Chickasaw Indians.

Chris Rock - The comedian is amazed at the roller coaster life of his ancestor who (in just 15 years) went from being a slave, to fighting in the Civil War, to serving as a South Carolina legislator, to returning to farm land near Charleston.

Tom Joyner - the radio talk show host is stunned to discover two great-uncles were apparently framed from murder and sent to the electric chair.

Peter Gomes - a minister from Cambridge, Massachusetts, talks about the complicated racial identities of his Cape Verde ancestors and growing up in an overwhelmingly-white community.

Maya Angelou - the poet gained even deeper knowledge about the characters who feature so prominently in her masterpiece "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings."

Morgan Freeman - discovers an interracial couple in his family tree, who did whatever it took to stay together despite the prevalent racism in 19th Century Mississippi.

Jackie Joyner-Kersee - the Olympic runner draws strength from the examples of her East St. Louis ancestors.

Tina Turner - the mega-star is brought to tears when she discovers her elementary school was built on land donated by her great-uncle and that an ancestor performed 50+ wedding ceremonies in her Tennessee hometown.

Kathleen Henderson - a fan of the original episode had the legend behind her ancestor's Woodbridge surname disproved by the historical record.

And, finally . . .

Bliss Broyard - another non-famous participant was shocked to discover her father's true racial identity after his death in 1990.

If you like ancestor hunting and root digging as much as yours truly, check your local PBS listings to see when/if this great series will re-air.

You will not be disappointed.

Apple core! Baltimore! Who's your friend?!

Did you ever play that game as a child?

Anyway, if you were playing it in Baltimore tonight, the answer would NOT be Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Mitt Romney, or Fred Thompson.

Each of those supposed "top tier" candidates failed to appear at the PBS broadcast of debates hosted by Tavis Smiley in the Murphy Fine Arts Center at Morgan State University--an historically black school.

And, with justification, many in the black community are taking offense. As former Lieutenant Governor Michael Steele told his fellow Marylanders in the introduction, it has been far too long that the GOP and African Americans have "stood at arm's length." The divide needs to end. But, that's not going to happen if we follow the lead of the "top tier" guys.

I will point out that Mike Huckabee was in Baltimore to participate in the debate and addressed important issues to minority voters like unemployment, criminal justice, and health care.

Remember, he's the same guy who has spoken to groups as divergent as union conventioneers and values voters right here in the great State of Florida.

That's what we need to see MORE of in our "top tier" candidates: uniters, not dividers.

I hope I'm not alone in my disgust with the status quo. I yearn for the election of a president next year who is unafraid of speaking to ALL Americans--not just those whose special interests have traditionally supported his/her party with cash or votes.

So far, in my opinion, only Mike Huckabee fills that bill.

The voyage of the Lady Juliana

The PBS series "Secrets of the Dead" continues to shine in obscurity--though with a decidedly Australian flavor this season.

Tonight's episode described the voyage of the Lady Juliana, a ship of female convicts sent to populate the British penal colony down under.

It was really an interesting account, and the producers are to be credited for tracking down and interviewing a handful of descendants.

Again, I don't know why the "big" networks continue to force-feed tripe like American Idol.

Or, could it be that I'm just "out of step" with the rest of the tv-viewing public.

Sadly, I think the latter is the case.

Oh, well . . .

The Catalpa Rescue

I just watched an excellent documentary on the "Catalpa Rescue."

The rescue got its name from the ship Catalpa pictured here, an old whaler from the port of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Anyway, it was featured on the PBS series "Secrets of the Dead," which usually includes a lot of forensic detective work in its episodes.

But, that was not the case tonight. There were no bones, no DNA testing, no botanical consultants.

Just the recounting of this fascinating story, one that (despite my lifelong love of history) had completely escaped my usually astute radar.

Anyway, it seems the British imprisoned 6 Irish soldiers for treason back in 1866 and sent them to a remote prison at Fremantle (near Perth) in western Australia.

One of the men, James Wilson, managed to sneak a plea for help to Irish nationalist John DeVoy, who had been exiled to the United States.

DeVoy rallied the American Irish group Clan na Gael to free the "Fremantle Six," as they were called. He soon had thousands of dollars pouring in to his office, enough to buy the Catalpa and finance a bold raid on the British prison.

If your local PBS station airs this episode, I can highly recommend it. True stories are always the best, and this one is full of a lot of drama, adventure, etc. And, it ends with an emotional unfurling of Old Glory by the captain of the Catalpa as a warning to the British navy vessels pursuing them that all those aboard enjoyed the protection of American sovereignty on the high seas.

I like any such reminder of America's long association with the cause of liberty. I only wish examples like this weren't relegated to PBS. The "Big 4" networks should be taking note.

Alexander Hamilton

He's been called "the indispensible founding father."

After finishing Ron Chernow's epic biography recently, I know why.

Alexander Hamilton played so many key roles in establishing our republic, it is quite literally amazing.

And, to make him more compelling, he had a very colorful personal life.

Anyway, if you don't feel up to wading thru Chernow's work, consider tuning in to local PBS channel 24 tonight (www.wmfe.org) for "The American Experience." Show starts at 9 and lasts til 11, a bit past my bedtime. But, I think Hamiltonian Hijinks are worth losing a little sleep!

Somewhere near Laredo, 1916

Our intrepid documentarian Cliff Curley is still working on gathering local history for his project with our PBS station (WMFE-24).

One of the things I gave him was this photo of the Orlando National Guard from 1916, when they were dispatched to the Texas-Mexico border to guard against Pancho Villa's raids.

Somewhere in that surly group are my great-uncles Frank and Cy Cox.

Can you spot them?!

Family Secrets

A co-worker is uncovering some old family secrets, which brought to mind a book I read a few years ago when I uncovered some old family secrets of my own.

Sometimes, we amateur genealogists uncover "too much info," and I found the book helpful in dealing with those situations. The author was John Bradshaw, and the title was "Family Secrets: What you don't know CAN hurt you." I think it was eventually made into a PBS series.

Anyway, I promised to bring the book in to work on Monday, so had to do some digging thru the "archives" today! Finally found it, and re-read a particularly appropriate section on projection before putting the book on my foyer table so I'd remember to take it to work next week.

Tombstone Tales

Today, I received an email and had a very nice telephone conversation with a fellow named Cliff Curley who is working on a project with our local PBS station, Channel 24. (www.wmfe.org)

The project is tentatively titled "Tombstone Tales," and will tell the stories of pioneer families. It will begin with local cemeteries, then interviews with descendants who care to share stories and photos, and visits to surviving historic homes and sites.

Anyway, Mr. Curley heard about our old Orlando family thru Dad's recent obituary, and has asked us to participate.

Of course, I told him we'd be delighted.