Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Thankful for Heinz 57



This is the expression my dear departed father-in-law used to refer to mutts, human mutts that is. And he used it in all fondness, being a mutt himself: Greek-Egyptian-Lebanese. When he welcomed me into the family, he told me how glad he was that Sarge was marrying a European Jew--he said it would make our children physically, psychologically strong, and more interesting to boot. So, Sarge has got a bunch of the Middle Eastern-African stuff plus English, Mexican, and perhaps some Native American. I'm Russian and Lithuanian, Hungarian and Polish, Jewish, and some bit of Southern Baptist from Kentucky (my dad's dad) via England and Scotland. So that makes Hedgehog proud full-blooded Heinz 57.

I imagine most of the people passing through here didn't come to America on the Mayflower...or whatever is the equivalent in other parts of the world...so what are the ingredients in your ketchup?

17 comments:

Megan said...

Irish mostly, with a nice chunk of German and a smidge of English and French.

Anonymous said...

I'm boring. I'm an Anglo-Saxon all the way. I wish I had more in my ketchup.

Queen Goob said...

Third generation Irish (dad's side)
Irish and Scottish with a pinch of German and one tiny smidge of Iroquois (mom's side)

Leah said...

Megan and QG--I wish I had more Irish (I forgot to add my bit of Irish to my list)--but I totally romanticize the Irish!

Random! Are you a Daughter of the Revolution?!

kylie said...

they say that if theres even a smidgin of irish yuo'll hang on to it!
my grand mother on mums side was norwegian. no mix there. my grandfather was raised with the knowledge that he was irish (irish via england and living in new zealand)but no genealogist has found trace of the family in ireland. wee mystery there
my mum looks for all the world like a maori, even the maori mistake her for one of their own, so another wee mystery

on dads side it's anglo all the way. my grandfathers line can be traced to the first fleet , which is rare in australia and makes me convict royalty :)
if i remember right daniel jurd was transported to australia for stealing some bacon. big price to pay for a starving lad, wasnt it?

and my sister looks for all the world like she's greek. i have seen greeks actually argue with her that she "MUST BE" greek

Kookaburra said...

Another great Post :)

As for me I'm anglo-saxon - mostly English, some Irish and a smidgeon of feral.

I just lurrve Heinz Baked Beans on a toast. "Beanz meanz Heinz".

Leah said...

Wait a minute! You people are purebreeds!

Suzanne said...

Wow! Great post!!! Oh my God, I have such funny stories! I was always told my mothers side of the family was "important." Honestly I thought it was my grandmother. An Ingersoll. So I researched the hell out of her, only to learn it was my grandfather, a Howard (Howard's Castle fame!!!) In college I'd apply for grants and ALWAYS applied for the generous grant from the Wives of the Confederacy, only to be turned down using Ingersoll. Damn! If I'd only used Howard I would have gotten some money to help with tuition!!! Funny and true. I was screwed by misinformation. Oh, and trust me, the Howards in my family didn't live up to expectations!!! What? I remember telling my mom and sister one day, "we suck!!!" Mom didn't appreciate that. But I digress. I'm English and French on Mom's side.

On Dad's side I'm Polish and Czech. I think there's a bit of Russian too. Not sure about that, but I feel a connection that I can't explain.

I'm Irish too. Not by birth, but by pure luck!!! In my heart, I'm Irish. Rob's Irish and anything Irish makes me cry. I look at the land, the people, the architecture, the history, and I cry. In my heart I know I'm Irish. Somewhere in the Howards or Ingersolls there and Irish man or woman who lives in my soul. I believe that with all my heart.

I love this post. Thank you honey!

XO

Carnalis said...

anglo-saxon, with a good dollop of unspecified yank (yes, the classic war story.. over here, over paid, and all over our women)

Beverly said...

My paternal grandfather's people came over from France in the 1600s and were part of the original Cajuns who moved from Canada to Louisiana. My great-grandfather came from Paisley, Scotland, and other ancestors were from Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, and there is a smidge of Native American in there, too. I love being a mutt!

Leah said...

Kylie--the Maori mystery is interesting, eh? and you made me laugh with your "convict royalty" blood--actually, that's really neat.

Suzy--I agree with Kylie, even a smidge of Irish and "you'll hang onto it." My fave poets and writers are Irish. And I love your genetics story.

Mark--I've been getting the imported Heinz beans at the British food section of my fancy local market--they taste best for some reason!

Carnalis--ah, the unspecified Yank!

Beverly--rock on Mutts! Your "pedigree" is fascinating. Our family trees branch out in so many directions it's impossible to keep it straight sometimes!

Knitting it Out in an Urban Zoo said...

Scottish-Irish, Lithuania/Moscow Jewish, Swedish,m New York, Connecticut, Midwest...lol

INNER VOICES said...

1/2 german, my father moved to america when he was in his teens...

the rest? ah fuck... parts of, french canadian, miq maq indian, canadian(regular),irish, french, i believe i even have a 1/64 newfie in there as well... so much crap. i think my moms family liked to fuck alot.

but here is how i split it..

half of my family can put down booze like its oxygen. and the other half are alcoholics...

so not only do i have the ability to drink copious amounts but i have the undieing desire...

Suzanne said...

Just stopped by to check in. IV nearly killed me! God, ya just gotta love him.

XO

PS Hi honey!

The Mistress said...

Irish and plenty of it.

*note the bottle of Irish whiskey between my legs*

Do you love me more now?

muralimanohar said...

I'm an American Mutt. I can't even remember most of it. Though a good chunk of my back history has Philipino names, and another good chunk has upstanding names like Fritz and Adolph. On my dad's side, I got a nice Irish last name, but apparently, it's so diluted, you have to really dig to find the source. :p

And then my dh is a Kiwi Mutt. Half Maori/Tahitian, half white European mutt.

So..we get to my kids. You know those ethnicity boxes on forms?? I always use the option to opt out. Screw trying to sort it all out. :lol:

♥ Braja said...

Oh yeah I remember that term from when I was a kid..I was born in Australia and we were a multinational lot, for sure. But my pedigree ain't mixed yet--pure Scottish highlander, and it will die with me, as I have no offspring. Better to die pure than become a baked bean, i always say. I think.