Saturday, April 21, 2007



#56- Rooted

The prompt this week -- "Rooted" -- is inspired by the name of Sunday Scribblings participant Gautami Tripathy's blog. It's a wonderful word; I love visual of tree roots sinking deep into the soil -- it's such a great metaphor for our connection to our land or culture. Write about your roots, or your rootlessness perhaps?


He was in the attic rooting around through boxes of old clothes, discarded furniture and other assorted miscellany. His parents never threw anything away. When things became outdated, or passe they would be put in the attic, the cellar, or the garage. Books were always stored in the attic where they were less likely to succumb to mold and mildew. There was the problem with rodents. He recalled the time his father found one of his books partially destroyed, like some one had had a book sandwich for lunch. Flummoxed at first, he soon discovered a mouse boudoir neatly lined with bits of what once were pages in a book. From that day on he made sure that there was an amble supply of dried blood thinner available for their easy access. Any subsequent visitors of their ilk found a less than hospitable abode to take up winter housekeeping in.

Ahha, there it was, the book he's been looking for. He'd been sure in remembering that his father had spent years compiling an extensive family genealogy. Of course he'd expected to find it in the library, not in the attic. In fact he'd spent two days rummaging through his dad's library before finally checking out the attic. How or why it ended up in the attic was beyond him. His mother had probably put it up there, after dad died, when she had tried to put some order to his father's haphazard filing system. Which is to say, he adhered to no filing system at all. She would have seen no reason to to keep the genealogy record in the library, having thought his time spent researching his relatives and ancestors a waste of time.




His father had grown up in this house, as had his father before him. In fact, his great grandfather had built this house himself.




His father had been right though. He'd told Limerace that someday he too would feel the pull to know his past; where he came from, who had come before him. He's said, "son, I put down roots here, anchored myself to this place. Your mother and I raised a family here and we prospered. You may not settle here, but you'll always be from here. All of your life you will have a sense that you are a part of this place, this town, this State. That feeling of belonging to a place is what I call being rooted. In time", he continued, " you'll put down your own roots, and raise a family. Your seed, your offspring, will always say 'I'm from here or there'. It's good to feel that you belong."

And so, here he was, sitting in his father's attic reading the family tree, tracing his past. He read about many places where his ancestors had put down roots, and he felt connected. He read about Phillipe Couillard de Roque-brun who had been rooted in Auch, France. He thought to himself, It's time to go back home and visit my roots.









Hmmm, Limerace wondered if he might be related to D'Artagnan.

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16 Comments:

Blogger Puss-in-Boots said...

An interesting post on a word that, in Australia, has a more scatalogical meaning. Don't ask me why...it just does.

8:46 PM  
Blogger Catch said...

Is this about you??? Have you been rummaging through the attic instead of getting the house ready for D? lol. The house is very neat...and huge! We all come from somewhere dont we? I come from the Fuquari Indian tribe....you know the ones.....where the fuquari????

12:30 AM  
Blogger paris parfait said...

This is a wonderful story, Rel. It sounds like you, even if it isn't. And the house is wonderful - a treasure trove of history and beauty. Terrific post!

4:04 AM  
Blogger Regina said...

I loved this, Rel. I love going into attics and finding what's been hidden up there, like I was the only one supposed to find it...
Your line, "You may not settle here, but you'll always be from here." really touched me- it made me think how much I miss my home.

8:12 AM  
Blogger gautami tripathy said...

Wonderful post, rel. I love rummaging through old stuff. Beautiful memories are found to be in there. Thanks for taking me back on time.

8:55 AM  
Blogger Crafty Green Poet said...

I too love rummaging through old stuff and have been doing quite a bit of it lately.

12:24 PM  
Blogger Amber said...

Wonderful! i really like his father's words to him. How true they sounded...
Good job.

:)

4:28 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

There's something...solid...about anchoring yourself so deeply to those who came before you. Great take on the prompt. as always!

5:23 PM  
Blogger Tammy Brierly said...

What a great house and I can picture you in it. Actually more the library than the attic. :) Love the post and dream home Rel.

6:47 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

It's so interesting that though many try to deny their roots, there's some kind of irresistible pull back to them. I enjoyed reading how you describe roots' power. The father's words are very authentic sounding.

Your writing has such a strong time-traveling sense. Is time traveling one of your cherished hobbies? ;)

9:14 PM  
Blogger Churlita said...

What a beautiful post. I can't believe you had time to write this with your wife coming home. Did you get all your cleaning done?

12:51 AM  
Blogger Lee said...

What Puss-in-Boots said...one has to be careful when rooting around here in Aus! ;)

3:34 AM  
Blogger Sian said...

This sense of roots, home, love, belonging is close to my heart too. Thankyou

8:32 AM  
Blogger Marcia said...

this was wonderful to read. I started a genealogy project long time ago and had many of these thoughts, though you've expressed them much more eloquently. I can just see the attic with its multitude of treasures stuffed here and there.

thanks for stopping by my blog.
Marcia

11:19 AM  
Blogger Rowan said...

It's so true about being rooted in a particular place - at least it is for me. It's 35 years since I've lived in the town of Macclesfield in Cheshire where I was born, but to me it is still 'home'. My roots in Cheshire go very deep, I've traced lines of my family back to the late 1600s in various villages near to the place I grew up.
Glad to hear that you got all the housework done in time for D's return - and I'm so pleased that she enjoyed her trip.

2:24 PM  
Blogger Kat Campbell said...

This was lovely, Rel, and filled with many truths. I haven't lived in my birth state for more than 30 years, but I will always be a Californian. Thats where my roots are.

2:24 AM  

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