More about Bonnie and Other Stuff

Dear little Bonnie the bunny has taken a turn for the worse. She'll be going to the vets today and may not be coming home. Last Friday she was a little lethargic with her foot dragging again. She also had some tummy problems. The last several days she has been much more active with good foot movement, but when she was weighed yesterday, it was discovered that she had lost two pounds. Bonnie is a big girl so the weight loss wasn't that obvious. Still, it's very troubling since throughout her time in the hospital cage she has had a hearty appetite. This is certainly a negative indication perhaps a sign that her leg drag is caused by a tumor. Meanwhile Edwin, Bonnie's friend, is still going through separation sadness-he scents her on me when I feed him and tries to run out of his cage to find her.

Tempering my general sadness-Bonnie is one of the few things keeping me at NRT these days-is the discovery that my grandfather had a brother who had at least three kids. Strangely, at the same time, a genealogist in England has discovered more information about my grandfather's uncle who remained in Wales and my grandfather's grandfather who contrary to family legend apparently didn't immigrate to America. Coleman Hands, the great uncle, had two daughters, one died young in 1940 and I haven't found anything on the other. The son was named Frederick Carville Hands, born in 1913. The Frederick came from his grandfather and the Carville from his uncle. Through high school at Carl Schurz in Chicago and into at least his first year at the University of Illinois he was called Carville. Later, in his fraternity days, he was known as Fred. My dad born in 1918 also had Carville as a middle name as do I. Fred Hands was a minor tennis star at both the high school and college level serving as the Illini captain in his senior year. Besides being in a fraternity, Fred was in the Varsity Athletes Club and the Future Chemical Engineers Club. One final reference, a private members photo on Ancestry.com indicates he may have died in 1979. Here's a picture of my long lost relative:

What happened after college? Are there Hands cousins out there whose family tree doesn't dead end in failure? And what of the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren of the oldest brother who stayed home in Wales? Stay tuned and if you can, spare a kind thought for my friend Bonnie.