Happy Birthday Darwin and Lincoln

Watching PBS last night with my family, I learned that Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were both born on the same day two hundred years ago today.

 

Kristine had been urging me to stop growing the Family Forest® long enough to write a new blog about Lincoln before his birthday passes. I had been considering comparing him to Benjamin “Don Benito” Wilson, another early American wilderness boy born about the same time who went on to greatness.

 

I had also been considering talking about the recent inaugural celebration concert at the Lincoln Memorial and the Family Forest® cousins I had noticed there in addition to the Obama and Biden families, like Pete Seeger, Tao Rodriquez-Seeger, George Lucas, James Taylor, Ashley Judd, and Tom Hanks. While channel surfing over the weekend, I stopped at Forrest Gump just in time to be reminded that Tom had already spoken in front of the Lincoln Memorial at least once before.

 

During the last few days Kristine had wanted me to watch a video about Darwin that relates to the Family Forest® Project. After watching the fascinating video over a cup of Kona coffee this morning, I couldn’t help but wonder what Darwin (and Lincoln) would think if he could visually explore the Family Forest® today.

 

Surely he would have found the world’s largest maps of human genetic migration thought provoking and helpful in his work, and I’d like to think he would have been amazed to discover what this single digital resource can do to ignite the curiosity and imagination of children.

 

Surely he would have been in awe to learn that it is has become possible to start with President Obama’s children, or Tom Hank’s children, and travel through their own generation-by-generation family ties to reach him and his family, plus

President Lincoln’s family, and to relate them personally to so many thousands of the most famous people, places, and events in human history.

 

While I don’t expect anyone will be remembering the 200^th anniversary of my birth, I do like to think that 200 years from now I will still be giving people smiles from the Family Forest®.

 

P.S. Here’s an inspiring Lincoln/Obama story. 

 

 

 

National Treasure

This is the most exciting time ever for us as we finalize the Family Forest® for the latest, and by far the greatest, release in the thirteen and half year history of the

Family Forest® Project.

 

This release will be called the Family Forest® National Treasure Edition for several reasons, beginning with what we were told early in the project by a great American who is a former Speaker of the U. S. House of Representatives.

 

After looking at our work he said to us “You do a great service to our country by encouraging people to find out about their roots and engaging them personally in its history.”

 

We took this as a compliment for the work we had already completed, confirmation that we were on the right track, inspiration for moving forward, and concrete guidance steering the continuing future growth of the Family Forest® Project.

 

It has been my personal goal for quite some time now that one or more U.S. Presidents will publicly call the Family Forest® Project a national treasure, and after 

a number of great releases along the way we feel certain that this release truly deserves the title of National Treasure.

 

The Family Forest® can now connect far more people personally, through generation-by-generation family ties, to more people, places, and events in human history (including Sarah Palin and the 2008 Presidential Election) than any other single digital resource.

 

It is a unique supplemental edutainment resource to enhance the study of almost every facet of American history by students of all ages, and it is partisan-neutral.

 

As it says on almost all of our releases over the last decade “While the Family Forest® ……. Edition is very much about genealogy, it is primarily about U.S. history, and more than 3,500 years of Old World history leading up to the birth of the United States. It is a fun and very easy to use reference source that should be a valuable resource for every student of history, young or old.”

 

We are confident that our People-Centered Approach to History® has reached the magnitude and scope that deserves to be called a national treasure, and we receive delight from our belief that the Family Forest® Project will be helping to inspire future leaders to greatness.

 

Igniting a Passion, Going for the Gold

They say that within every dark cloud is a silver lining, and my heart attack and the resulting surgery and recovery have not been an exception. Being forced to take it easy allowed me time away from the computer screen to watch quite a lot of the Beijing 2008 Olympics, and to become inspired by so much concentrated human excellence. 

 

Having so many various and diverse individuals from different countries and backgrounds coming together in friendship and peace to compete, excel, and seek the highest honors in their specialties is a real beacon of hope for the world’s future.

 

I also noticed that ExxonMobil ran many ads, which focused on the need to interest children early in excelling at math and science.  

 

Growing the amazingly networked system of links that is the Family Forest® has convinced me that there is a much better approach than a direct frontal assault to their worthwhile objective. 

 

Personally connecting schoolchildren to greatness through actual family ties, as the Family Forest® can do, is a much more powerful beginning step to lead kids toward excellence in many fields, including math and science, and the pursuit of Olympic Gold. 

 

Family Forest® discoveries can be very powerful catalysts to spark children’s curiosity and excitement. 

 

After more than a decade of growing the Family Forest® Project, we know that the Family Forest® is the best digital central source to personally connect the largest number of students of all ages to greatness through their own family ties. It is a very enriching and empowering resource, and I wish it were available to me as a young student. 

 

Here are a few links that relate to igniting a passion in students: 

 

http://www.familyforest.com/captainslog/65.html

 

https://familyforest.wordpress.com/2007/06/20/probably-your-castle/

 

http://www.familyforest.com/captainslog/17.html

 

http://www.familyforest.com/captainslog/44.html