![]() He is now connected with distant cousins from across the globe, many of whom serve in law enforcement (it must be genetic). Each time he unearths a more ancient ancestor, his circle of living relatives widens. One consequence of my father’s sleuthing has been the exponential growth of his side of the family. My workaholic father found the perfect remedy for his retirement blues: assigning himself an infinite case. ![]() I think that’s why the project appeals to him. Unless he’s about to get his hands on Adam and Eve’s deportation documents from Eden’s immigration office, he is not almost done. Yet whenever my mother urges him to put down the death certificates and rejoin the living, he protests: “But I’m almost done.” It’s an insane claim. Sometimes, we worry my father is spending too much time buried in the past. If his ancestors form a welcoming party to the afterlife, he won’t require name tags. But his encyclopedic knowledge of our forebears never fails to amaze me. I’ve seen my father use the same technique - with less success - on his jammed printer. I’ll rummage through a box, hold up a black-and-white photograph, and ask, Who’s this guy? With great familiarity, my father will start chatting about my great-uncle, a farmer on Prince Edward Island who, according to family lore, was strong enough to break a wild horse by holding the animal’s head firmly in his grasp until it stopped bucking. Occasionally, I visit my father while he’s hard at work. Sheehans, Spillanes, Mutries, McIntyres, Whites - so many Celtic clans, and not a single castle among them. The basement is crammed with boxes of documents, each dedicated to a different familial branch. After more than a decade on the beat, my father is more engrossed than ever. ![]() I was hopeful (“Maybe he’ll dig up a deed to an ancestral castle”), my brother was cynical (“After a few generations, the trail will run cold”), and my mother was dismissive (“It’s just a phase - he’ll be onto something else in a week”). When my father launched his probe into our roots, the immediate family had mixed reactions.
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