Names and Nationalities

[Tom Kunich]

My cousin had her DNA sequenced to see if she could find any forgotten relatives which to me seems like shaking a box full of marbles. We have such a large and varied family that no one would ever guess that a large number of them were in any way related.

I would think that our newest posting member Simon S Aysdie is probably a name of Celtic origin.

My cousin and I have exactly the same heritage since we are first cousins on one side and second cousins on the other with the same surnames. My mother and her father who was the worlds largest creep who ran out on Paula's mother after she was pregnant with Paula, the second child. Paula's mother and my father were brother and sister.

Djede (grandfather) was a rampant Croatian to the point that he wrote a book of how all Croatians in America should all try to keep their heritage alive by only speaking Croatian in the home. Not to put too blunt a point on it but his own children wouldn't speak a word of it in the home though they could completely understand it.

Djede came from the Island of Mjlet off of the coast of Dubrovnik. He was an extremely handsome man which missed me altogether. I took after my mothers side of the family - Austrians. Unfortunately I have the same nose as her brother which apparently makes people want to break it. That didn't turn out too well for them. In either the case of my Uncle Harry or myself.

To get rather lately to the point, Djede was what they used to call blonde before Marilyn Monroe after which they described it as dirty blonde. None of his children had that. His wife was the typical Croatian from Dubrovnik with black hair. All of his kids had that air. Paula and I had his light brownish hair. Well at least when I had hair.

What Paula's DNA showed her to be a third Greek. I mentioned this to my wife who in her youth in the college choir had toured Europe including singing in the great Churches of Europe and even the Vatican. She also spent the better part of a year living with a Greek family there. She said that all Greeks had black hair which I wouldn't argue with her about since she cheats by not paying any attention to what I'm saying.

But Helen of Troy or Sparta if you wish also had blond hair so indeed whether or not they ended with black hair, they at least started with it and they have peopled the islands of the Ionian sea and probably far to the north since they were a sea faring race.

Somewhat interesting if not about bicycles.tech.