New Beginnings

                                                      New Beginnings

     All of my postings so far have been about the past, not that I want to hold on to the past so much but the past is where I once lived, where I once played and built memories that have lasted a lifetime. I have enjoyed writing these stories and think I have a few more yet to tell but now I am going to break precedent and speak of the future.
     Saturday, the 15th of December 2012 at 12:13 pm a most beautiful little brunette entered my life, she weighed in at 6 lbs. 5 oz and stood 19 in tall, she immediately stole my heart. I am speaking of my Granddaughter Michaela Judy Riggan.
     It was love at first sight as I held her in my arms for the first time and looked into her eyes, her tiny fingers struggled to wrap around one of mine but she managed a grip and held on tight. I wanted to cry out of sheer joy for the moment but too many tears had rolled down my cheeks lately. I do not want Michaela's life to start out in tears even if they are for joy, her childhood should be filled with laughter, her youth with excitement and her life with happiness.
     To me Michaela is a bright star on the horizon of the evening sky twinkling and shining brighter as it rises higher into the darkness that cloaks us. She is the future of this branch of the Riggan family and I look forward to making memories that will last her a lifetime.
     Today I watched as her Grandmother held her, I saw a twinkle in Linda's eyes that was once reserved for Danny and Clay, I think though this twinkle may be brighter for Michaela. This little girl has captivated us both, as Grandparents we promise to willingly fulfill our duties and responsibilities to her; she will be loved and spoiled as Linda and I have been waiting for her for a long time.  All I can say is the wait was worth every moment. Thank you, Marie, for the gleam you put in Linda's eye and the smile on her face, we love you.
     I watched my son gently work his fingers around Michael's body as he picked her up to place her in my arms, the expression on his face was one of love and pride. My mind went back some 32 years to a night when I gazed upon his face for the first time, I wondered if fathers thru the ages have had the same expressions and feelings, I think so, there is something about your first born that never changes.
     I want to say to Danny and Marie that we are proud of you and love you very much, Michaela's arrival could not have come at a better time, this is the best Christmas present I or Linda have ever received.

     As for Michaela, just grab my finger and hold on tight. The path is not always smooth but your Mom, Dad, Grandmother and I will do our best to keep a smile on your face and laughter in your voice.

     Postscript: 

            This was a serious time for Linda, she had been taken to the emergency room several days before and laid in ICU with a tube down her throat for two days, there was serious doubt she would last through the first night. She needed open heart surgery but was too weak for the procedure so she was spending time in the hospital to build up her strength. Her doctor allowed her to be taken down to the hospital cafe to see MJ, the staff knew the surgery was iffy and this could be the only time she would ever see MJ.

You Can't Pick Your Relatives

                            You Can't Pick Your Relatives





     Computers, although a pain in the butt, are really interesting things to have around when you can just goof off with them.  The other day I Googled myself and came up with over 40 pages of references to Michael, to Douglas, and to Riggan.  From there I found other interesting tidbits of information, both good and not so good, pertaining to the Riggan clan.
     For instance, there is a Riggan cemetery in Monroe County, MS. and a street named Riggan in Olive Branch, MS.  I had no idea the clan had spread that far but it seems that the largest population of Riggan's is located in North Carolina followed by Virgina then Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.  The ancestors didn't stop there as there are now people with the surname of Riggan in just about every state in the US.
    There is a cemetery in Bridgeport, Washington where Allie, Edward, Hazel, Johnny, Mary,  and Sandra are laid to rest.  They are all Riggan .
     I was interested to find more about the history of the Riggan clan such as a website that says the name Riggan originally came from France in the 1500's.  They were Huguenots, French Protestants,  who left the southern regions of  France for England in search of religious freedom.  Based on this I can now say that my ancestry encompasses French , English , Scottish and Irish.  My memory of world history tells me that France was over run by the Romans and Germanic tribes of the region as well as traded with the Vikings.  I have often wondered where I came from and now find myself still wondering.
     There is a Riggan in most every branch of the service and every level of responsibility and every ruckus the nation has ever been in had a Riggan to back it up.  Francis Riggan, one of my Great Great Great Fathers , fought as a Private in the Revolutionary war.  He was from Warren County, NC and in 1833 at the age of seventy he started drawing a pension of $20.00 per month for his service . There was also a William P. Riggan who fought in the revolution.  He was a Private from Halifax County, NC .  He also drew a $20.00 pension at age 73.   Wonder if this is who my brother Pat is named after?
     In researching Francis I found his will and the will of Michael  I. Riggan who died around 1853. Seeing as how he is the only ancestor I have run across named Michael, I guess I was named after him.  Works for me .
     During the Civil War the surname Riggan was found in Confederate records 50 times and in Union records 11 times.
     There was a Walter G. Riggan in Denver, Co who fought in the Spanish American War.  He was an Assistant Adjutant and Quartermaster for the General Lawton Camp # 1 of the United Spanish American War Veterans in 1931.  He was born in 1874 and died in 1963.
     Edward C. Riggan from Parker, OK fought as a Private in WWI.  Of course Dad and his brothers fought in WWII.  Brother Pat and I were in Viet Nam and little sister Vickie did a hitch in the Navy during the 1980's.
     Many of our cousins are involved in higher education . The Dean's List and Honor Rolls of many colleges and universities across the country are riddled with the name of Riggan.  Joyce Ann Riggan made the Dean's list for the last two years running at Bevill State Com. College in Alabama .
     There is a Rev. Walter Riggan who is a tutor and lecturer at the All Nations College in Hertfordshire, England.  He is also an ordained minister in the Church of Scotland.
     Robert Ethan Riggan is a Theatrical student at Middle Tenn State University in Murfreesboro, Tn.
     Need legal advice?  Call cousin Russ of the Russ Riggan Law Firm LLC in Kirkwood, Mo.  Maybe he will give a family rate.
     Do not call (hopefully very distant cousin), Robert Lee Riggan Jr in Denver, Co.  He tried to represent himself in a murder trial and failed.  In 1997 he was convicted of first degree murder in the death of a 21 yr old prostitute .  A jury gave him the death penalty but a panel of judges converted the sentence to life without parole.  I guess every family has a closet with relatives no one wants to claim and from what I read Robert and his immediate family would fill a couple of closets.  Just be sure to throw away the key .
     On a lighter side, I have said in a previous blog that little sister Vickie was a one and only - well, that ain't so.  I have discovered a Vickie Lynn Riggan in Lone Tree, Iowa.  I'm not good enough to figure out what she does there but her name was listed twice in the local newspaper with dollar amounts next to them.  Either she is owed a lot of money or she owes a lot of money.  I'll let little sister decide if she wants to contact her doppelganger . But wait , after talking with little sister she said there is another Vickie Lynn Riggan in of all places Nashville , TN. . This brings us to the question - might there be more ?
     Little sister Vickie has a friend named Brenda Baird.  I was interested to find a site that confirms the Baird and Riggan families are related by marriage.  In one instance a Baird guy married a Riggan girl and in another case a Riggan guy married a Baird girl.  Guess that means Brenda and I are cousins?
     Jerrod A. Riggan of Brewster,WA was drafted to the NY Mets baseball team in 2000 as a pitcher and played two seasons before being traded to the Cleveland Indians for another season.  He wound up playing for the Hanshin Tigers in Japan in the 2003-2004 season.  I also found a Jerrod Riggan as a Columbia River fishing guide - maybe he gave up on baseball?
     Scott Riggan is a music minister in Eagle, Idaho.  He recorded a version of Silent Night in 2003 and has quite a list of religious recordings in his name.
      Last but not least there is a John Riggan that works for the Nashville Zoo.
      I never knew the Riggan clan had grown so large or that it contained so many people that have or had such interesting lives.  All of these people and more have the Riggan name in common and they all can trace their beginnings back to a few ancestors who set foot in America in the mid 1600's.  This does not include the daughters of our ancestors who married into other families and whose offspring may very well be your next door neighbor.  Kinda adds a whole new meaning to the phrase  "small world ".
     The Internet has opened up a whole new world for me.  It is nice to know that when I get so decrepit that all I can do is sit in front of a computer I can at least keep up with cousins I will probably never meet or get to know but with whom I share a name .
    

    

1947

                                                                     1947


     I got curious a few days ago --- just what important happenings occurred as I was entering the rat race?
     Thanks to the Internet and my wife's finally bringing us into the 21st century by setting us up with high speed Internet service, when you are curious about something the answer is only a click away. Well, being a click away is only if you know what you are doing on a computer.  I struggle and some times I strike oil.  No matter how frustrated I get (wish we hadn't thrown out the set of encyclopedias) , perseverance being my middle name and having several hours to spend clicking thru the Internet, I found some of the answers I needed.
      1947 was not a bad year.  Neither was it a great year.  On the whole it was sort of so-so. The nation had just fought a world war and was transitioning to a peace time economy.  We didn't know of the looming Korean conflict on the horizon. For now the men were coming home, starting families and getting on with all life had to offer - hence, the "baby boom".  1947 was the second year of the  "baby boom" and in excess of 3.5 million babies were born that year. I happen to think my birth was the most important .
     May 5, 1947 was a Monday.  There was a full moon at 4:53 in the morning and it was spring time in Tennessee. According to Mom and Dad, I didn't come into this world easily but I made it.  The first of five kids.  The baby boom was far from over.
     So what was going on in the US of A on May 5, 1947? 
     Harry Truman was President ( he was serving the remainder of Roosevelt's term ).  There was no vice president. The population of the US was 144,126,071 ( that one on the end was me ). Federal spending was $35.5 billion  and the National Debt was $257.1 billion. The life expectancy was 66.8 years and you could send a first class letter anywhere in the US for three cents.
     The average salary was $2,850.00 annually.  A new house cost $6,600.00 and a new car only cost $1,300.00.  Gas was 15 cents per gallon, bread was 13 cents per loaf and you could eat a porter house steak for only 69 cents per pound.
     A picnic train in Queensland Australia derailed killing 16 and injuring 38.  There was a flood in the Mississippi valley that killed 16 and caused millions in damage .
     Eleanor Roosevelt wrote in her daily column, "MY DAY ", pleading for financial pledges in support of the newly formed International Refugee Organization.  She was concerned that the US had yet to lend support -  after all we were now a world leader.
     The biggest headline was in the Times-Picayune of New Orleans, La.  Seems that on May 4 there was a bold prison break at the Acre Prison in Jerusalem.  The Israeli underground force, known as the Irgun, liberated some 251 Jewish and Arab prisoners while attempting to free eight of their leaders.  I saw the movie Exodus and the prison break in the movie followed the events of the real prison break.
     Doesn't sound like exciting times.  I guess most people were busy working on the baby boom.
     The year as a whole was some what exciting though.  More of the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered .
     The CIA was established and a guy named Walter Morrison invented the Frisbee.
     Jackie Robinson, the first Negro to break the color barrier in major league baseball, signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers .  As great a player as he was it didn't help them win the series in Sept.
     Great Grandpa Sam Riggan passed away in February.  He was 80. Sorry I missed you Gramps.
     Barbara Walker of Memphis, Tn. was crowned the 21st Miss America in Atlantic City, NJ.  She was the last Miss America to be crowned in her bathing suit.
     The Polaroid camera was invented in 1947.  Now you can see the picture you took 60 seconds after you took it.
     May was a good month for the movies.  Two of my all time favorite movies came out in May - "The Ghost and Mrs Muir" starring Gene Tierney and Rex Harrison - and what is Christmas without watching "Miracle on 34th Street" starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwen as Santa and a very young Natalie Wood.
     Unlike in the movie, the Jewish ship EXODUS was prevented from landing in Israel by the British. The ship was loaded with 4515 Jewish men, women, and mostly children from all over war torn Europe who were attempting to find a home in the birthplace of their people.  Ironically they had left countries they were born in because they felt persecuted, only to seek a homeland where the occupants swore to annihilate them. Sadly, it is now 65 years later and there is still no peace in the mid east.
     In July, according to who you want to believe, aliens crashed landed in Roswell, New Mexico. The Air Force said it was a weather balloon but nobody bought the story and from then on alien sightings have been world wide.  Sadly, I have never seen one .
     In September our newest bit of technology, "TELEVISION" broadcast Baseball's World Series for the first time. The New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in seven games.  I can't remember when we got our first TV but I can say for sure it was not 1947 and I can't imagine many people had one then.
     October 14 found Chuck Yeager high over the California desert in an experimental jet plane called the X-1.  He was attempting to break the sound barrier (768 mph).  Chuck pushed the plane to MACH 1.07 and became the fastest man alive.  Not long after this feat his record was broken by Scott Crossfield so Chuck went back into the air and broke the record again exceeding MACH 2.
     The last most significant event of the year was that some time in late November or early December my brother Pat was conceived.  He would be one of the 3.5 + million babies born in 1948.  Welcome,  little brother.
     All in all 1947 was like most years of the era.  People were happy that the Great Depression was behind them and World War II  was over. The future looked bright.  The brass ring was there for the taking - all you had to do was reach for it.