Hurricane Confusion

Hurricane Debby cannot make up her mind and sits stirring things up in the Gulf.  All the best laid plans can come flying apart in just a very brief time. What a metaphor for life!

Our son and daughter-in-law have just given us our fourth grandchild and second grandson, Samuel Robert Ramsey. She came home to a new house in a new town fortunately very close to our vacation home in Panama City, Florida. Though the birth was easy, the recovery has taken a scary turn. Just like Hurricane Debby.

So, we have decided to evacuate the entire family here in the Big Bend of Florida, including our oldest granddaughter and take them to the security of our inland home in Lower Alabama. I am taking the time to post now because when we get home with all that crew, there's no telling when I will make my way to the peace of my library and my computer!

Most of what I write is historical fiction based on our Native American heritage. My interest in this area of history came while doing genealogy and discovering that my fourth great grandmother, Vashti Vann, was the first cousin of Chief James Clement Vann of the Cherokee about whom I remembered reading in elementary school. She was also a descendant of Chief Powhatan of Jamestown fame through his daughter Cleopatra (known as the Shawano) because he actually had TWO daughters by different mothers named Cleopatra. I decided to take the Tribal DNA test just to confirm this Native American heritage and got more than I bargained for. Not only was the Native American genealogy the second highest ancestral source of my DNA, it was not just Native American, but Mexican Mayan Native American. Now that opened up a whole new realm of research and great potential for a super prequel to some of these that I have already written. I find that truly exciting. Author/Architect/Archaeologist/Creek Indian Richard Thornton on his website http://peopleofonefire.com/ tells a fascinating story of Mayan presence in the area of North Georgia where my ancestors would have lived.

The metaphor of the hurricane and the confusion that results from that tropical storm reminded me of the confusion that must have led to the exodus of Mayans around 900 A.D. from their homes to disappear from history. That mystery compels me to learn more -- and build a story around it.

Life is good. I am excited about learning more and then sharing this aspect of our history through historical fiction.