To know who you are, you have to know where you have come from is the premise for NBC's weekly TV show, Who Do You Think You Are?After the last snafu, I wasn't about to miss this week's episode. I made sure that the TIVO was properly set.
This week's segment featured football legend Emmitt Smith. Going into the show, he knew very little about his family's background. The journey not only uncovered his history but also his personal connection to the motherland Africa and the impact that it had on his life.
For me, finding records (like birth/marriage/death or census) of family members is a lot like opening a much anticipated gift, I was a little surprised to experience the same rush of emotions last week watching a complete stranger {Sarah Jessica Parker} discover her connections to the past. Guess what? It happened again! When Emmitt uncovered his family census and marriage records, it felt like it was Christmas morning. Kevin was watching the show with me. He felt the same exhilaration that I was feeling. I don't know if I'm grateful to know that I'm normal...or worried that we're both genealogy junkies!
Emmitt found what he was looking for. Towards the end of his journey, he said that he could hear his ancestors saying thanks for the closure that he was giving them... that all they wanted was to be remembered.
Me too, Emmitt. I've heard the voices too!
I loved Emmitt's final statement; History is not his story, it's MY story!
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