Thursday Thirteen

To keep a promise to myself to blog at least once a week, if only for Thursday Thirteen, here goes.

Not that I am anyone special to most of the population of this world, I am special to a few. I think I'll get the 13 things about me done first.

1. Remember the song that starts "Born on a mountain top in Tennessee"? I always think of those words when I go to write where I was born. Except it was more in a valley, between the mountain tops.
   
   Greene County Tennessee is located in the eastern portion of the state, it shares a border with North Carolina. I lived there until I was 18 months old, but every time I go to visit (I still have relatives there) I get the feeling that is where I belong. The topography is grand and the denizens of the county (which I am probably related to most in one fashion or another) are the friendliest you will ever find. I keep on saying "one of these days. . .I'll return to stay."
   
   
2. I was a Navy brat. Many children with fathers in the service consider me lucky. We only made 2 major moves caused by my father being transferred. The first move, I usually don't count because I was just a baby, and that was to Quonset Point, Rhode Island. Quonset Point is no longer a Naval Base. It was closed down years ago and is now in the hands of RI's Port Authority (I think).
   
   Our second move was to Virginia Beach, Virginia. Well, actually at the time we moved there Virginia Beach was a small resort town on the Atlantic Ocean. Most residents lived in the now defunct county of Princess Anne. In January of 1963, Princess Anne County and the City of Virginia Beach merged.
   
   
3. During my 30 years in Virginia Beach, I graduated from high school (Princess Anne High -- 1964 -- Go Cavaliers). Got married, had 3 kids, worked in several clerical positions and drove a cab. Also, became a grandmother at age 38, way too young.
   
   
4. I also learned how to cross-stitch, crochet, macrame and knit. Items made with the first 3 turned out better than the last. I tried making my own clothes, but that turned out to be disastrous.
   
   
5. In the late 80's I followed my folks out to Las Vegas to live. After completely retiring my folks bought a mobile home along with a van to haul it. They travelled across country for about 7 years before settling in Sin City.
   
   
6. Learned how to deal twenty-one (Blackjack) and also Dice (aka craps). Interesting jobs, but hard on the legs. After 8 years, I decided to make a 'career change' and worked in the sports book. Never saw a horse race until I moved to Las Vegas (except for the Kentucky Derby of course), but grew to love the sport after watching them for 8 hours 4 days a week.
   
   
7. 1995 was a sad year for my family. I lost an uncle in April of that year, followed 6 months later by my mother. A month after she died her own mother passed on.
   
   
8. Also in 1995, I got my first computer and signed onto the Internet. I was one of the many millions of folks whose first close encounter with being online was with AOL. Back then, you had so much free time, and then they socked it to ya after that.
   
   
9. If it wasn't for AOL, however, I would never have learned how to research my ancestors. I had always wanted to know who came before me, and how I might have been influenced by them. I just didn't know how to do it or where to go to learn. The Genealogy Forum on AOL was a wonderful area to learn (but oh those phone bills !!!)
   
   
10. By 1996, I had found tons of information on my ancestors and hooked up with a gal named Terri (who today is more like a sibling I never had) who was researching the surname Bible as I. Funny thing at that time, I could prove I was a descendant from the 1750 emigrant Hans Adam Bieble, but Terri whose maiden name was Bible, could not. Although since then confirmation has been found.
    
    
11. When I do something I don't do something half way. Terri and I decided the Bible Family need a web page. So I taught myself HTML and created my first personal web page AND a family website for the surname Bible. I also volunteered for a new project that was being started as USGenWeb to do a county page for Greene County TN. I wound up being the State Coordinator for TNGenWeb, on the first Advisory Board for the USGenWeb, and had the reigns of Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness (RAOGK).
    
    
12. My life has always been one of adventures and misadventures. One of the most interesting adventures was being asked to join the staff of RootsWeb.com. The best thing that came out of that tho was meeting my current husband, ONLINE. We married in 2000. I now live in Nebraska.
    
    
13. RAOGK used to be totally funded by hubby and myself, until unemployment for both of us took its toll. Now it is funded by contributions from the volunteers and users of the site, the Google ads appearing on the site, and the sale of items in the 2 CafePress shops we now have. Links to all the websites mentioned are in the sidebar of this blog.
    

You probably now know more about me than anyone ever cared to know. But I've kept the promise to myself to at least blog once a week and that makes me feel great !

Technorati Tags: Thursday Thirteen, Genealogy, Tennessee, Virginia Beach, Las Vegas, Nebraska, CafePress