The Purple Rose of Vancouver

Hmmm, just doesn't have the same ring to it as Cairo...Even Portland would have sounded better.  But it's in Vancouver, so that's the way it is.  

I stopped at the little rose garden on the way to drop off my book and because of the rain, the roses were covered with pretty rain drops.  So, if you want to see (if I do say so myself) some really pretty wet roses, please jump on over to my Flickr page.  I decided to feature this purply rose mainly because I don't usually gravitate to this color, but I thought this rose was really pretty, so what the heck.  You tell me which one you like!

An interesting day as I signed up for a month with Newspapers.com, and the things you learn.  Good grief.  You know, you just can't pick your family.  I'm just grateful I'm even here at all, when you look at the big picture, and I  mean BIG PICTURE, of human evolution.  Everybody survived to bring in another generation who survived and then times that by a LOT of generations and bingo, here I am.  So, anyway...I searched a name and up popped the story about my great grandfather's brother, who I knew committed suicide, as I have his death certificate.  What I didn't know is the rest of the story....  He was a  young man who was in trouble with the law several times so he was a "ne'er do well", as described in a 1912 newspaper.  He had a fixation on this young woman who rebuffed him many times, and finally he'd reached the end of his rope, pulled out a gun and shot her dead. He also shot a friend of the lady who was running away, but she survived.  He then shot himself in the heart or the head, depending on which article you read.  This must have been so tragic for my ancestors who lived through this. The things you learn, when you start looking.  

What's in your family tree????  Or who?   I'll have to tell you some other stories sometime.  Those are more positive than this one. Thank God.