“I come from a patriotic family. Both my parents and both my brothers, and I served as officers in the Army, Navy and Air Force. My paternal ancestors were lawyers, back to the early 1700s. My maternal ancestors were Presbyterian preachers and business owners, all in Mobile, back to the mid-1800s. On both sides, Alabamians all, to before Alabama was a state. Yes, some were slave-holders, but some were not. That one fact has influenced my parents, and my brothers, and me, and our son as well, to a life of service to others. Whether to a progressive congregation, to under-served clients, or to homeowners suffering a catastrophe. So some of our ancestors defied their humanitarian beliefs, but some did not. But that is our truth, our legacy, our history. But one can still atone for mistakes of their great, great grandparents.”
