Genealogical Jaunts

In pursuit of their family history the Fords travel from the green waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the gray Baltic Sea. They visit the Southland and tour the old countries of Lithuania and Ireland. On their jaunts to the ancestral homes they also find history--the Old Town in Vilnius, the New Zion in Utah, ruins of medieval castles, nineteenth century coastal forts, morbid collections of Civil War surgical instruments, KGB headquarters, a lost cemetery, villages that wander the countryside, a church that has no name, and another church that used to be the Museum of Atheism.

They greet the searing morning sun in Florida and bade the sun good night in Palanga, reminding it not to forget to return the following day. They share stories with newly found cousins and they meet memorable characters--seated Mormons, a racist raconteur on Social Security, a befuddled pilgrim with a bad memory, former communists who haven't quite mastered suggestive selling techniques, and a kindly gas station attendant who knew where they were when they didn't.