received response to military inquiry

[elba]

Dear Michele your comments were not offensive but seemed "piccino" and unecessary. People do not know who you are, how old your are, whether you are a male or female, why you choose one word or another and it is easy to make things go from bad to worse.

Nevertheless we welcome you to the forum with open arms and we are here to help not "rompere............i". =Peter=

You know Peter what you said there is in fact true of many of us - that includes you and me too! All people know about me is that I am based in the Alps in Northern Italy. Not whether I am male or female, my age or my nationality. Much the same can be said about you too I suppose. We know you live in Yonkers, but have no idea of your age, your background or your nationality. I (personally) assume that you are a gentleman because of your name. But I have no idea how you gained your knowledge of Italy or it's customs and practices.

I know that I joined IG in February 2006, and you followed in December 2007, so we both have some considerable time and experience under our belts - but nowhere near as much as many of the great researchers who abound on this site.

For my part I had already married a Milanese guy and was living in Milano, Italy during those 'real' times that you mentioned here:

"Back in the 60's and 70'swhen life in Italy was real, the month of August was always referred to by the average personin Italy as the Feria Agosto meaning that everything in Italy closed down for the month of August. iIts meaning was not what you technically describe but a popular description for vacation time in Italy and nothing more."

Well life in Italy was surely VERY real in the 60's and 70's, I can't argue with that, and from your statement I can only assume that you were living here too in those days - am I right?

Age wise I'm nearing my 70's and for the last half century of my life I have been either living in, or been closely connected to my family in Italy and to it's culture. My retirement life is now permanently based in a small mountain village of about 1000 souls but where I am accepted as one of them!

I have never considered my attempts to help people as a contest, but more as an opportunity to ensure that they are given correct information. I'm certain that you must feel the same way.

I don't want to be considered as a 'rompi scatola...'


So perhaps we can now get back to the original reason for the thread... the response to a military enquiry and how long one should expect to wait for a response at this time of year!

[PeterTimber]

Dear Elba I was very touched to read your comments. Your understanding of my reaching out is indeed appreciated. You know I started out with Edmondo around 1995 was in its early stages and he modernized it as we got increasing inquiries which I was able to handle since my approach to genealogy, as it is today, on referring people to appropriate websites, addresses, resources and listings doing cursory checks when it was easy to do. The forum thrived and since I was fluent in Italian and Spanish, we got by nicey nicey. I am very hard on myself demanding truth,honesty and idealism to a point where if I questioned someone's motives I breathed fire on them!! Finally everyone in the burn unit rallied and I was ejected from this august forum!!! I didn't reallly mind it as i was looking for new venues to be Godlike and sallied forth.


But to digress for a moment. I lived in the NYC area for most of my life, found my station in life unacceptable,was very precocious. I skipped year in HS and went to University for foreigners in Perugia where I learned the language. I made frequent trips during college on the "liners" and when I graduated went to live and work in South America for about 5 years. I came home and decided that Joseph Campbell, author of Man of a thousand faces was my hero. His works on Myth and Mythology and consciousness prevailed and his caution to "Follow Your Bliss and you will be happy and successful" became my life philosophy. I met and married my Brooklyn Sicilian match and have had a very nice life since then skiing, travelling, and retiring early.

I work my genealogy on the the basis of helping people to help themselves responding to inquiries by referring people to wesbites, addresses, research sources and lists so that they can conduct their own research and enjoy the satisfaction that I always felt when I researched my family back to the 1100's. I don't mind responding with cursory checks, observations and help outs. The forum has become more complex and advanced and some of it is beyond my immediate capabilities. So here we are aging gracefully, you in the Alps and me in the Hudson River. Its been good talking to you Elba...nice to have met you! =peter=

[lilbees]

Peter, I have only been involved in this forum since about 2000 when I started my searches for family. You were and are now a great inspiration for me. Your suggestions and leads in areas to search and/or write have been very helpful over the years. After a several year hiatus I returned to this forum. Was disappointed when you were not around. Was delighted to see you rejoin. Had it not been for your reccommendation to contact the U of Penn. I would still be lost in my search. But, that small suggestion opened up many doors for me.

Thank you again for all you service to we members.

lilbees

[PeterTimber]

Thank you for the cherry on top of the whipped cream!!!=Peter=

[Lucap]

... the satisfaction that I always felt when I researched my family back to the 1100's...
=peter=

8O WOW, asthonishing!

Luca

[wldspirit]

Before we end this current conversation and get back to the topic at hand.....

If not for Peter, Suanj and Ricbru I would not know nearly as much about research as I currently do. Taking Peter's lead, I provide websites as a learning tool, thereby enabling the poster to explore and discover information on their own. I will do lookups, but not nearly as much as I once did.

IG has seen major changes in the past few years......we have moved from
leading posters to providing all the research, now some posters do appreciate this, but we have had complaints from others that we took away their ability to do the research themselves, when all they really wanted was a simple answer to a simple question, to be pointed in the right direction.

This is where ongoing dialogue is important, giving the poster a chance to answer key questions before throwing every available record to be found at them.......discovering what it is the poster really requires.

And on a side note.......I don't think I will ever forget Peter sending me to the NARA site.....I was lost for days!!!!!!

Genealogy is a constant learning experience and IG has some of the best teachers around!!!!!

Now let's put some of that wonderful experience to work!!
wldspirit

[warriorrabbit]

You know, I've still never received anything from them. Someone signed for the letter on July 16. I know they shut down for the summer, so I didn't pester. But now it's practically the middle of October.

I'd like to write a letter asking what happened to the letter and 5 euros, without necessarily accusing anyone of pocketing the cash. Although I'm guessing that's what happened. Somehow I thought sending it certified would discourage that.

[PeterTimber]

I would not send any money but would write a follow-up letter and do not send anything more and leave the money out of the equation but send a copy of your original request. www.Mangeruca.is my recommendation.=Peter=