Ancestral Tale

Somehow I missed the disclosure a few days back that Professor Henry Louis ("teachable moment") Gates may be related to James ("arresting officer") Crowley, through their common ancestor, Niall of the Nine Hostages.

I can, as you might say, relate. My pal John and I each claim a Scandinavian ancestry, although up to now we hadn't thought that it might be anything more specific. But John points out that just about every Scandinavian was wiped in the 14th Century by the Black Plague. The chances are high, then, that we can claim kinship through our common ancestor, Hjalmar of the Eleven Lutefiskes, the only guy in Scandinavia to go fishing that day.