This morning, while I was reading my daily devotional, I had a good laugh.
“As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew.”
There it is again! A double name which is the bane of my genealogy research existence! Why is Simon called Peter? Why does he get two names? Because Jesus is in on it. He gave him a new name, “Peter” which means “rock”, but when Peter was acting like his old self before his conversion, Jesus called him Simon. So, if I was looking up old genealogy records of the 12 Disciples on Ancestry.com, I would be like, “Is this the right Peter, or was he still Simon? I’m so confused!“
Speaking of double names – Richard Connolly, my 2nd Great-Grand Uncle who owned a saloon and grocery store South of Market in San Francisco, not only had a son named Richard, but he had a wife and sister named Mary. My Great Grandma Katie, according to her letters, was close to Hazel, his daughter, her cousin.
“As a small child, I had no recollection of being rich or poor. My earliest memory of wanting anything was a gold ring with a blue stone. While I got the ring and loved it, I soon lost it when I dropped it in the crack of a boarded sidewalk and could not get anyone to take up the thick board. At the time, I was reaching for my cousin Hazel (Uncle Richard called her the second I arrived in SF). Her father had a saloon and grocery store somewhere around 10th and Folsom Streets. I loved those visits, especially the candy we swiped from the glass case when no one was looking. My father and uncle would get in a rage if we ever chewed gum, which we swiped also. We had various hiding places in the woodwork where we stuck the gum when we came in and recovered it on the way out. It was a very daring feeling. We were not thinking of germs. Something of that daring feeling must have stayed with me as I recall many ups and downs throughout my 77 years. It must have been my destiny to have many different addresses through my life, but never out of California, and always less than two hours by plane from San Francisco.”
Today I went on a walk with my fellow performer friend Noemi in the Oakland Hills, where she lives. As we headed back to her place, the most beautiful sunset overlooking the Bay came out.
Saturday, January 4, 2025
Theresa Donahoe 