Das Herz: Illustration by Joni James
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Das Herz! Or, to have courage in your soul in German. This drawing was inspired by my recent connection discovery to my German heritage. My grandfather was adopted so for most of my life I was never quite sure who his blood parents were. Through my daughter's search on a genealogy site I learned that my "non adopted" maiden name is Schimmelpfennig! What a big difference from the name Allen. My daughter was even able to find a photo on line of my great grandfather.
Because family hasn't always been the most forthcoming about our past, it was fun to learn this small detail and imagine how different life can be with one small turn of events in a family's lineage. I like to imagine that my great grandfather was possibly a writer or an artist of some kind as this seems to run prominently in my family. A touch of madness as well!
In closing, and being an avid collector of quotes, I thought this one was fitting to today's post:
"Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness." Allen Ginsberg
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