Peddes Everywhere

A bunch of Pedde cousins and my son Zach, Gananoque, Ontario, August 2009

I'm back in my office after a whirlwind week that included a family reunion in Gananoque, Ontario, and a leisurely detour through upper New York State to get back home. Now, it's time to catch up on all the work that inevitably piles up when I am away.

The family reunion was great. Some of us hadn't seen others for many years. My brother hadn't seen one cousin for decades and had never met another. My son met two of my cousins for the first time.

My cousin Friedhelm, an archeologist from Berlin, did a presentation on the origins of the Peddes. I can't remember much of it because there was so much detail, but the presentation was fascinating. Friedhelm has promised to formalize the information so that I can put it on the www.pedde.net website for other Peddes to enjoy.

We had a truly great time. We talked, laughed, jammed with guitars that my brother and I had brought along, and the time went very quickly. Occasions like this allow some introspection and I realized in discussion with others that I had three Pedde cousins named Horst. What are the odds? One Horst is son of my uncle Gustav who disappeared in World War II. Another Horst is son of my uncle Eduard who died at age 98 in Kelowna, B.C., a year or so ago. The final Horst is son of my aunt Wanda who lived in Poland until she died several years ago. There are two Richards, sons respectively of uncle Eduard and aunt Wanda. There are three cousins who have 'fried' (Friede means peace in German) as part of their names. There is Wilfried, son of my aunt Maria, Friedhelm, son of my uncle Adolf, and of course yours truly, Siegfried. The desire for peace was strong among rational Germans during and after World War II.

We are planning another Pedde reunion for 2012, probably in some part of Germany significant to the family. If we are lucky, perhaps my sister Wanda, and some cousins from Poland and Germany who didn't make it to this reunion might attend.

It will be fun.

Pedde Family Reunion, August 22, 2009

I am taking a week off. I know, how dare I, with so much to do, not least pointing out to everyone who will listen that we are descending pell mell into a hell of economic misery, thanks to misguided and incompetent bozos in various levels of government. Worse, while they are at the wheel, it is we, the electorate, who without much prompting have our foot on the accelerator. What's wrong with us? Are we all masochists at heart, not happy unless everyone is reduced to the same level of misery as everyone else?

Maybe I need a week off to get my mind off this stuff. I will be in Gananoque, Ontario, for a few days, at a family reunion I have put together. My cousins Friedhelm, Gunter, and Horst from Germany, cousins Richard and Horst from Texas, and my brother Alfred and sister Wanda from Ontario will all hopefully be there. Some of our kids will be there as well, in particular my brother's kids Jasmine, Amber, Jordan and Jessiah, my own son Zachary, and my sister's daughter Rita. It should be fun.

I put together a huge poster for the event, a smaller version of which is displayed above. I love looking at old photographs. They remind me that the human race has been around before my generation and will in all likelihood continue to exist after I am gone. I can't see how, given our propensity for collective stupidity and a seemingly total abdication of common sense and personal responsibility, but maybe things truly do move in cycles and those laudable and currently absent qualities will return again.

I sure hope so.