Irish

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I'm fascinated by the ads that offer to determine your ancestry by testing your DNA. If I ever get extra money, I may invest in such a test.

Based on what I know of my grandparents, my ancestry is firmly in the British Isles. Flynt is a Welsh name (the spelling has varied, and there is a county in Wales named Flint). My mother's maiden name is McBride. My great grandmother emigrated from Ireland (her family name was Kelly) and she married a McBride. Doesn't get much more Irish than Kelly/McBride.

When I look at other grandparents, I find the names Haines and Kirkwood, both decidedly English in origin. Another great grandparent had the surname of Yohe, also English, though there may be Germanic roots to that family as well.

As the saying goes, we all came from somewhere. The Flynt family arrived in America in the 1600s - no, not on the Mayflower, but not long after. While my Irish great grandmother arrived in about 1860. When I first heard about Ellis Island, I pictured my great grandmother arriving there along with her parents, but when I finally got a chance to visit Ellis Island, realized it hadn't even been built at that point.

In my opinion, it is great to celebrate our heritage, and to realize that all of us came from a diverse background/ethnic heritage.

As a writer, I know that having diverse characters strengthens a story (we wouldn't want everyone to talk or act the same, would we?), the same is true for our communities.

It is what helps make Life a Mystery.