Family Tree

Exploring the branches of the family tree can be rather dicey. Some ancestry could be famous, humdrum or downright spicy! A feller I know decided to take the risk and check around. I'm not so sure that he was all that pleased with what he found! Seems that in the distant past a member of his family strain, Was a notorious pirate marauding the bounding Spanish Main! Another was a nefarious cattle rustler ever on the vamoose. Til a posse tracked him down, and stretched his neck with a noose! One forebear, a scoundrel who specialized in robbing trains, Was ensconced for life in a cozy cell, detained in heavy chains! A rowdy ancestor caused a ruckus in a Cripple Creek saloon. The local sheriff done him in one fateful afternoon! His lineage included a "business lady", of whom he proudly spoke. Til I revealed what a "soiled dove" was, dismaying the poor bloke! His great-grandpa was caught dispensing jugs of potent 'shine. Revenooers busted him, resulting in jail and a hefty fine! His uncle was a goon in a notorious Chicago gangster mob. He met his Maker heisting a bank they were trying to rob! He proffered a prayer as he examined that tragic family tree: "Lord! May a sturdy twig adorn this tree and let it begin with me!" Robert L. Hinshaw, CMSgt, USAF, Retired (© All Rights Reserved)