Cold Calls, Hot Potatoes

Here is where I digress a little from my initial contact with Diane. During this time, I was also on a hot trail to finding my sister. I'd enlisted the help of some private "searchers". They were "angels" of detection. By their help, my research, and an encounter with a library "angel" (a library historian who'd also been a social worker.), I discovered that I indeed had a sister. And, this sister existed on a list of 13 women who all shared some similar and important information. This led me to some heartwarming phone calls with complete strangers. Those calls gave me quite a bit of  encouragement on some weary days.

When the confirmed woman would answer the phone, I would tell her my name and the rest went as follows:

"I am doing research about my family tree. Is this a good time to speak with you about a private matter?"

 If they said yes, and they did, I would then tell them when and where I was born. After that, I would ask them if they had family living in or around Charlotte, NC at the time of my birth. I told them that I was trying to locate other family members that had lived there during that time. Then I would drop the atomic bomb of  questions: "Do you know of anyone in your family that relinquished a child for adoption?"

That question was loaded like a baked potato on hot bar Wednesday at Quincy's. Understandably, they'd start fumbling with it in their minds and into their words. The whole phone call was a steamy, foil wrapped potato that was searing to the touch. Some of the women started to formulate questions that they were going to ask their mothers and fathers. They were ready to toss that potato to a few of their family members. And, others knew immediately that their parents were not the people that I was looking for. For those who were suspicious of their kin, we would exchange more information until the potato began to cool. Their families were not my family. I went on to let them know that I called them because their names came up in my research. I was able to relay enough information to foster a sense of peace, understanding, and acceptance of the situation. Every one of those ladies offered a wealth of compassion. And once again, my heart melted like warm butter. I was grateful for the encounters. The cold calls had not led me to my sister, but I did have a great list of elimination going on. I was left with a few names that did not have a way for me to contact them, but I knew that one of those names belonged to my sister.
 I continued to work on my family tree that was housed on the Ancestry website. And, I was also preparing for my greatly anticipated visit with Diane. I was not quite prepared for what happened next...