A Redneck's Day at the Dallas Genealogical Conference

Adventures In Genealogy
or
"A Redneck's Day at the Dallas Genealogical Conference"

6 AM: the Alarm goes off, its Saturday, why am I doing this. Forget it, I'm staying in bed.

6:10 AM the alarm goes off again, I hear a sweet voice say "get out of bed --- if that alarm goes off again you are dead." Reluctantly I get up, turn off the alarm and proceed to get ready. Grab my clothes, turn on the computer and log on. Gotta check my mail and say hi to the "other" AM lunatics in the Treehouse. Trade jokes and insults, chain smoke and drink my morning caffeine.

6:40 AM: I am finally awake enough to drive. Kiss the blonde, grab my briefcase and head for Dallas. Jack up the stereo, sing along with Garth, Willie and Merle all the way to Dallas. Since the traffic is almost nonexistent I get to Dallas by 7:30. Jump off Highway at the Waffle House (Man it's gonna be a great day).

8:15 AM arrive at the Dallas Convention Center, go in and resister, carefully placing my name tag over the syrup stain on my shirt. Start looking for GFS Loni and GFS Jill while checking out the vendors. WOW, they've got books here with marriage indexes, will abstracts, land deeds and census indexes. There are folks selling Genealogy Programs, blank forms, photo albums and WFT CD's.

9 AM: No sign of Jill or Loni, so I head for the 1st lecture. It's on publishing a book on your family, the Speaker is Don Rainey. The lecture is fantastic, Mr. Rainey lays down a step by step approach to (with ballpark figures on costs) to publishing and marketing your family book. He even gives advice on building a marketing group and how many books you have to sell to break even. Then he gives us a quick down and dirty way to publish a book for almost no money.
During the break (after a quick smoke) I once again start looking for the elusive Jill and Loni. Wander the halls, drink a coke, go outside for another smoke. Still no sign of the Bobsey twins but its time for the 2nd lecture.

10:45 AM: 2nd Lecture is on Getting Your Files Organized. Very good speaker (forgot to write her name down). She gives us some wonderful ideals but I can't help wondering if a redneck can "be" organized. Well, its worth a shot, I mean after all I got my NASCAR memorabilia organized, how hard can it be to get my dead folks in a row.?

Lunch Break: (run outside for a smoke). I systematically search the place, looking for the Dynamic Duo, after 20 minutes I give up and buy some lunch. I go outside to sit under the trees to eat, (I don't know it but sitting 30 feet away from me on a bench eating their lunch are the missing hosts). After eating I once more go looking for Jill and Loni, I spot a couple of young attractive ladies sittin on a bench eating, but figure Nope, I am looking for two little old ladies.

1 PM: Time for the 3rd lecture - Don't ask me what it was about forgot already. Slowly fading into that full tummy need nap mode. So sleepy didn't even take notes, Boy would the Boss (GFS Carol) be mad at me if she knew. (LOL)
Last Break: Scour the halls "here Loni, Here Jilli," wander all over the place, still have not seen a single person named Jill or Loni. Beginning to think that either they are figments of my imagination or they are avoiding me. Oh well, on to the last lecture.

2:45 PM: Another get organized lecture. I really wanna get organized (LOL). This one is on organizing your mind before going to do your research. Lots of great suggestions, I am even gonna try a few of them.

Lecture over, I wander over to the vendor area to buy some of the forms that they suggested in the last lecture, while I am paying for them one of the ladies I saw eating lunch walks up to me smiling. It's JILL, they have been looking for me all day. Finally get to meet them both (Boy was my mental picture of them way off).

Overall a great day, learned lots of new tips and research methods, bought three new books and got to put faces with the names.

Note: This was the first Adventure in Genealogy. Written on the way home from the Conference. I meant it just as a joke to send to Jill and Loni but it just sorta took off from There.