Books

I have some books, or rather treasures. A history that great grandmother Richardson wrote and a history that her grandson, my father- Jim Bates, wrote. Mother's is in the making now, and there are many other ancestors that have left behind life sketches and journal writings that give me a clue to who they are and how I fit into the family. I feel very blessed to have them. I also feel it a duty and a privilege to do the same. I am working on it. My children, my grandchildren, my great grandchildren will know me... really know me. As they turn the pages one by one to reveal my life story, as I have seen it and lived it, they too, will recognize their own faces in mine.

My father said it best....

Write one experience at at time. A birth certificate proves you were born. A personal history proves you lived - really lived. A pedigree chart proves your ancestors lived. A family history proves that they lived and because of them - you are now alive.

My face is really not mine alone. It was not shaped by my victories or defeats, joys or sorrows alone, but was designed before I ever drew a living breath. It began with my great grandfather, grandmother - or was it their parents - or theirs? I'm made up of a peculiar blend of an ancestral reservoir - little bit of him, a touch of her!

As I look at and examine my life I look for the best, the glorious, because glorious things have happened. That doesn't mean I have to leave out the heart aches and the heart breaks, somehow there's something glorious in every event.

                                                                                            -Jim Bates 

I come from an ancestry line of good writers. Their personal stories are full of color, adventure, wisdom, humor, and inspiration to do better, live better. There are examples to learn from. Faith to build on. I hope in time, my posterity is able to say the same thing about their mother, grandmother, great-grandmother. And, in turn, I hope it inspires them to write, too!