My Family's Sordid Past...

When I was a little girl and my two cousins would come down to visit from Massachusetts, we would play dress up at my grandmother's house, putting on all of her rhinestone costume jewelry and fur stoles (arguing over who would get the tiara and the white rabbit fur wrap, of course), and belting blankets and sheets around our waists as beautiful, elegant gowns. We pranced around, imagining, as little girls will do, that we were really Russian princesses, soon to be discovered by the world as royalty and to earn our rightful place on a throne somewhere. When we weren't playing princess, we were building forts in my grandmother's dining room and living room, draping sheets over and between any piece of furniture we could find, imagining a luxurious cavern, a cozier place to sleep than our beds. Sudden, harsh reality would keep us in check when a rebellious chair would tip itself over in the night, shattering the illusion and scaring us half to death. Of course we'd just blame it on ghostly presences...

As we grew older, we realized that we were just like anyone else. No undiscovered secret life, no exotic past, no princesses... Well, recently my father found this article, which seems to provide at least a bit of an interesting edge to my family's past. My great-great uncle Herman wasn't such a nice guy. Bootleggers, murder and corruption... (click on the pics to read!) Enjoy!