Dear Santa . . .

Remember those days when all I wanted for Christmas was a doll? Well, those days are over. I hope you have the resources to meet my current requests.

First of all, I, like every other genealogist who works a day job to support the genealogy habit, would like a huge endowment which will enable me to quit my day job and do research full-time as well as travel to all the places my ancestors lived to do research, order or make all the copies needed for my research, support my book-buying wishes and needs, pay for all the really cool genealogy databases that I'd find helpful, attend all the genealogy conferences I want to attend, etc.

Second, I would like for you to find the cave in the hills of northwest Alabama where my ancestors hid all the details of their lives when they decided to burn down all the courthouses over there to erase evidence of their existence and from whence they came.

Third, I'd like to find backup copies of all the documents that were burned in those courthouse fires that I believe my ancestors deliberately set to hide from me generations later.

Fourth, I'd better ask for an addition to my house with floor to ceiling built-in bookshelves and additional filing cabinets to house all those additional books and files I'll be accumulating when you supply my first wish.

And, last but not least, I'd like LOTS OF SNOW! I'm tired of winters with no White Christmas, White New Year's Day, White Birthday, or White Valentine's Day. I'd like at least four days with 6 or more inches of snow with one of those being Christmas eve so that I have a White Christmas.

I hope this isn't asking too much!

Sincerely,
Lori

P.S. - Brumley says he supports my request for more time away from work so that I can be with him more and wishes for a lifetime supply of catnip.