My Canadian and American Heritage

Let me begin by saying that I have been taking American Heritage this semester, and I love it.  Growing up in Canada, I didn't really know all the history of America—I knew about the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and other isolated details from American history that are widely known, but I didn't know the history very well.
I have thoroughly enjoyed learning the history of American government and economics, and seeing how they continually interact and change today.  It's probably been the most interesting and satisfying non-religious class I've taken so far.  And as with any good class, the material sticks inside the mind, causing further reflection outside of class.  I've had many thoughts and ideas rumbling around over the semester as I've taken that class, so they will now come out at the end of the semester in the form of blog entries for my English class!  Those entries will be called something like, "Thoughts from American Heritage" or something clever like that.

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One of the assignments we had in our American Heritage class was to do an "Interview Paper" with a parent and grandparent, comparing our lives to theirs through several different categories.  My dad's father (an American) is passed away, so I got to talk with my mom's father (a Canadian) and learn about what his life was like when he was my age.  I realized early on that I knew very little about my Grandpa Jamieson's life.  We've lived too far away from him to have any extended meaningful contact, so I was glad that I got to learn some details about his life, even for a school assignment.  That paper's already been turned in, so this entry is kind of more for fun, just reflecting on how awesome my Grandpa is.

Rulon Alton Jamieson, 87

He was born in 1923, which means he grew up during the Great Depression.  He's also a full-blooded Iroquois, which makes me one-quarter.  He grew up on the reservation and has a great memory of stories and people from there.  He also provided us with a very old document detailing which chiefs were involved in forming the Six Nations—complete with little sketches of the different chiefs and which tribes and clans they were from.  Obviously it's very important to us.

He lived through World War II—he wasn't a soldier, although he nearly joined the "Royal Canadian Air Force".  Instead he ended up working in factories producing bomber planes and other military equipment.  He's a former regional billiards champion, and he used to supplement his income by beating others at pool and betting on horse races.

Today he visits the local Senior's Center during the day to play pool and cards with his contemporaries, and he can still hop fences and climb trees to pick fruit out of his yard.  He's very intelligent, he can play the guitar very well, and he enjoys solving Sudoku puzzles.  Grandpa, you're the man!