Don't they look familiar?

A good part of the thrill of researching and writing this blog is the connections made with people we'd otherwise never even know about.  Case in point: 

Sibs Deb and Sandra are descendants of family we wrote about HERE and HERE.  Sandra emailed in May 2013 to say the wedding picture on that second link is of their parents, Edward & Elenore Scherman ☺. Edward's mom was Mamie Otremba Sherman, who's dad was Karl Otremba, son of Johann Otremba, brother of our Anton Otremba...so Karl was dad's grandma's cousin.  Got that? (For the Genealogical Purists among us, the "common ancestor" we share with Deb and Sandra is Johann Georg Otremba (& Susanne Preussner) from Groditz, Tillowitz, Schleisen, Prussia).

Even cooler is that I met them in Little Falls this week, and we drove over to Pierz, strolled the cemetery behind the church, and then went for pie, coffee and talk.  It was great fun, and they're every bit as nice as they look.  We sat and traded facts and stories for quite awhile, and I left feeling like we've known each other always.  We come from good people, ya know?  

New history

My nice niece Laurel lives in NYC.  Her job took her to India  temporarily--but WOW--isn't it amazing that 5 generations and 140 years later, she can fly to a country Johann maybe never even heard of--for work?  Our world is strange and wonderful....

Anyway, back in New York, she has a money plant that needs watering every two days, so she left it with her Korean neighbor, John, who sent  this charming update on the plant's welfare:

Hi, Laurel.

How are you? What time is it now there?

Do you work on weekends there? I hope not.

I took a walk to Cnetral Park with your little botanic creature.

Both of us needed some sun light and I just came back.

But I wonder whether to bring a plant in the Park is so strange or not.

So many peple were interested in your plant.

At first, I put your plant a little bit far from me.

Then a guy approached to your plant and tried to take it away.

I stopped him and had to tell him that is mine.

So, I moved it near me and I got back to my book that I brought to read. 

But not a baby and a toddler have passed by without staring at it.

Some people told me it's a nice plant.

and some people asked me a few questions.

For instances, what that plant is and comes from and even someone asked me it's Marihuana????

Thanks to you, I had a very interesting experience.

I discovered that carrying a nice plant or not causes a big difference in the Park.

take care and stay healthy.

John.

Thanks for sharing this, Kath ☺!