Archive for the ‘The Story’ Category

Prologue

Friday, September 26th, 2008

Another begins…

All tales are true. Some are parables and some are fact. Every fact is interpreted and filtered with the perspective of the viewer. This story is no exception. There are facts; there are truths; there are aspirations; and there are interpretations. This story is intended to relate a very personal set of experiences and history. It is shared to honor my predecessors and successors. It is also shared in the hope of indicating that my story and yours are intertwined.
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The Beginning

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

September of my 50th year is when my life began to change.  During a period of 12 short months, my quiet, complacent world would be shaken to its roots.

Business was going reasonably well, our son was ensconced in his masters degree program and our daughter was a senior in high school. I was on yet another business trip, this one to LA.  I had flown out on 9/11/2002 (yes, one year after) when the first episode of my many recent encounters with life struck.  My father had broken his hip.  I suppose that this ought not have come as a total surprise, but as with most unwanted events, it was.  With the advantage of twenty-twenty hindsight, the accident was easily explained.  But nonetheless, it was, at that time, a surprise, a shock, and a panic. I was three thousand miles from my parents, one thousand miles from my wife, having to act the part of supporter and nurturer with all of the facilities that remoteness and technology would allow.
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Coming to Grips

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

As we were traversing the nightmare that was my 50-51st year, we had many opportunities for introspection and thought.  There were times when we were angry.  Times when we were fearful.  Times of doubt. And even, times of joy.

I would be less than truthful if I said that we were not forced to re-examine ourselves, our lives, our values, and our faith.  That is not, however, where it stopped.  I had always been comfortable with my faith,  what was more interesting was that I not as certain how I fit in my family and world.
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Hope in the Future

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

As you most certainly know by now, my mother is German. She is a product of having grown up during the time of the Third Reich. My father, on the other hand, has always thought of himself, or so he says, as one of those conquering heroes who had the great good fortune of meeting the love of his life in the rubble that was post World War II Germany.

It has always be a curiosity to me that such a time and place could produce the circumstances and love of which I, my sister, and my children are all products.
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Alone

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

Recht-Kunz Wedding As I look at photos of my great grandparents, grandparents and parents, I see the faces of my past. Each looks at me across the span of time without movement or animation, yet each coveys a strong message of simultaneously being connected and disconnected in time, space, and place. I am certain that we each assume that same position for our successors, and are especially so for our children and grandchildren.
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Confluence of Past and Future

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

I am at the nexus of an indefinite past and indeterminate future. My history will forever remain clouded, built of conjecture, legend, and images. The future is shrouded in hope, desire, and uncertainty. It is my sense of belonging, and relatedness that joins the two and forms a unity of design and purpose.
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Dedication

Monday, August 31st, 2009

This site and effort is dedicated to all my forebears.  Without them we (my family) would not exist.  Their lives, their loves and their journey has made us who we are and who we will become.

Special recognition however is merited to:

  • Robert R. Henss- he began the family genealogy effort and set a standard for excellence that we hope to carry forward. We hope our work makes him proud.
  • Fred & Luise Rabideau- the papers they saved from the ashes of World War 2 have kept an entire branch of the family alive.
  • Becky Henss Rabideau- she has the patience of a saint and puts up with my working endless hours on this effort.
  • Jeremy Henss Rabideau- he is my part-time co-conspirator and a research animal.  He has uncovered family facts that no one thought were attainable.

Mark F. Rabideau (temporary custodian of this information)

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