I'm finding this Alzheimer's becoming more frightening as the months wear on. My link to the people in my past is disappearing as Mom's memory fades. The other day a Facebook friend of one of my Facebook friends saw my name and inquired of my friend about the possibility that we were related. Her maiden name was Larmie and her Dad's name was Frank. I remembered visiting an Uncle Frank when I was a child but didn't know exactly how he was related.
"Mom, how was Frank Larmie related to Dad?" I asked.
Mom looked into my eyes for a pregnant moment in which I suspected she was drawing a blank. "Frank? Huh, I don't remember a Frank Larmie."
"Yes, Mom. Remember, he worked at Cones for a while. We went to visit him a few times when I was a kid. He had a daughter, Debbie, close to my age. He lived in Newport. A few years ago we heard how he had diabetes and lost his foot or something. Remember?" I try my hardest to jog her memory and have her help me figure out how Frank was related to Dad.
"No. I really don't think I ever knew a Frank Larmie."
I saunter across the driveway back to my internet search with thoughts of the Christmas card I sent to Brother George. Did he get it? Or did it get thrown away unopened? He would be a link for me. He'd remember Frank. If only he were truly a brother to me.
I found myself obsessed with knowing who Frank Larmie was and how he was related. All of the genealogy websites ultimately needed money to allow my search, so since Ancestry.com had an iPad app, I went with them and downloaded a 10-day free trial. That's how crazy I got! I had to know how this friend of a Facebook friend was related! It turns out Frank was my dad's uncle, the youngest brother of my Dad's dad and only eight years older than my dad. So Debbie Larmie was my Dad's first cousin and is my first cousin once removed.
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