My Inspiration

We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies. ~Shirley Abbott


When a society or a civilization perishes, one condition can always be found. They forgot where they came from. -Carl Sandburg


It is indeed a desirable thing to be well-descended, but the glory belongs to our ancestors. Plutarch


In different hours, a man represents each of several of his ancestors, as if there were seven or eight of us rolled up in each man’s skin,—seven or eight ancestors at least, and they constitute the variety of notes for that new piece of music which his life is. Ralph Waldo Emerson


Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrations and revolutionists. Franklin D. Roosevelt

UPDATE

 

I had a photographer friend shoot this hi-resolution photo of the entire article. 

Dad got me my first subscription to The Abbeville Herald - probably around 2008.  He then renewed it when the subscription ran out.  Over the years he had done that with various Auburn magazines, even when I was in Central Asia for a year and then later living in Thailand for four.  Yes, Inside the Auburn Tiger magazine was arriving at my address in Bangkok, thanks to Dad, long after my passion (the fanaticism really that defined me and many Espys) for college football had waned significantly.  I had not asked for the subscription, and really thought it was a waste of money, in fact.  But another part of me really appreciated the thought, and it reminded me of the eighties, in particular, when I was side by side with Dad at games, a fabulous time in my life - a great time to be a boy, growing up in the football crazy South.  So, as the years went by, Dad made sure that Auburn followed me wherever I went.  I have a subscription now to Auburn Alumni Magazine.  Three years ago the magazine "just magically" started arriving at my Asheville address.  I didn't ask for it, and didn't even go to Auburn.  It was Dad's doing.  And when the subscription runs out, I won't renew this one, for sure.  There's no reason to.  Besides, my re-subscribing won't be the same.  It meant more coming from Dad.  The Abbeville Herald is a different matter, though.  Dad knew I was developing a strong interest in family history and genealogy, and he thought I would love to read Larry Smith's weekly article.  And I did, and do.  When Larry wrote the story of Thomas Franklin Espy's arrival in Headland, Dad mailed me a second copy of the paper just in case I hadn't seen it. The other day, my subscription renewal notice came.  A little bit sad. Not that I have to pay for the subscription.  The amount is incidental.  It's just that Dad's not here to play that role anymore.   

Incidentally, when I was at Samford, The Headland Observer arrived every week.  My brother Mark also got it when he was a student there.  I guess you know who arranged that?  Dad wanted us to stay in touch with the Wiregrass, and it was a good way to encourage that.  In between classes and in the cafeteria and back at the dorm, I actually enjoyed thumbing through the Observer.

Another Update