So this imigration bill stuff has gotten me thinking about my family history. People with direct branches on my tree have been in the US since before 1900. My mom's side has kept very good records. I have pictures of her great-great grandma Gerken ( tee hee ). My mom has a very blatantly German last name. Her parents lived in Ohio, where they really like cole slaw and brats. Her mother was British/Welsh, and presented herself to Queen Elizabeth because she could trace her roots back to a Lord Snowden of Wales. Don't ask me who that is. Everyone always says they're related to famous people. On my dad's side, it's dicey. Since recently getting an invitation to the Ball Family reunion, I've found out this is my paternal grandma's mom's last name, and they have lived in Bryan, TX since the dawn of time. ( I was born in Bryan, btw, and when I visit there and CS I get this eerie familiarity feeling. ) However, a long time ago my mom said the Texas Ball family is related to the Louisiana Ball family. They had some sort of plantation in Louisiana pre-civil war. She claims she read a newspaper article about how they owned slaves and intermixed. I saw a geneology website and the Louisiana Balls are related to the New York Balls, so I thought maybe " Lucille Ball?" That would be so cool, even if I was only kinda sorta several times removed related to The penultimate red head. ( who didn't have natural red hair either ;) ) My paternal grandpa claims to be 1/8 Cherokee. He knows his family has also been in Texas since the dawn of time, so I'll believe the whole Indian bit. He went to the one-room Benjamin school house that I pass on 380/114 everytime I go to Lubbock. But other than that, I just have to assume my people come from England. Judging by how freaking white and freckly I get, I'd venture to say northern England. How boring. :)

Now Matt's geneology seems a lot easier. He looks Incan. He is from Peru. If you look up a picture of the Inca, he looks them. He has straight, black, shiny hair. His ancestors herded llama and played those little pan flutes all day. I can picture my ancestors...eating gruel and getting the plague. Whoever decided it was "hip" to be WASP-y is an idiot...