Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Returned




When I traveled to Mississippi to make The South Lost The Civil War I always felt the sense of leaving, returning home, at the time being Orlando FL.  Now living in Brooklyn, NY I feel like I couldn't be further from the south, the heritage I've so terribly dealt with; until my father found documents.  These documents show another heritage, a northern heritage.  It seems my fathers side of the family resided in North Brooklyn, just a few miles from where I now live.  The addresses show Greenpoint, a historically Polish neighborhood, and Bushwick which was once Polish and now predominately Puerto Rican.

Having always known about my Polish heritage, but never seeing the proof, the document, always gave me a disconnected feeling.  Today it feels different, living in New York City and still feeling like an outsider, never able to understand the life here, but having the proof of roots.



1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Chris - this is such a coinsidence - I have Polish roots, too, and like you I wasn't particularly connected to my Polish roots, and just last month I was presented with a connection (I travelled to Poland and saw the house where my family used to live). I agree - having the proof of roots is wild.

All the best,

Saw Lady