I have built the foundation of my life on stories. The stories of my mother’s parents, Ray and Jessie O’neal, and their siblings especially informed how I see the world.

The documentary DEEP ROOTS (view below) captures much of these stories. It explores life in the Chelan valley in the 1920s and ’30s. It explores a dirtier, harder, and more uncertain life than many of us experience today.

Learning these stories broadened the horizon of my life. I saw my origins spanning two, three, four generations back. And I could see the influence of my life extending to future lives.

But the biggest gifts of my family's stories were grace and forgiveness. Frustrating elements of my own childhood had origin stories beyond mom and dad, beyond grandpa and grandma. I found no source, just well-intentioned, very human people, doing the best they could.

Video captured using Canon VX-2000 ]]> ]]>