Beltsville, MD (USA)

I've been communicating with another genealogy researcher for several years - he actually has the same first and last name as me - and I finally had a chance to meet him today. He recently moved to LaSalle Hall, the Christian Brothers Retirement Community in Beltsville, Maryland. I left Alexandria around 1015 this morning, using I-495 all the way to US-1 (very little traffic). Crossed through a portion of the University of Maryland Campus as I got close to his place. Arrived around 1100 and rang the bell at the entrance. It was a nice facility - built in the mid 1990s. I met several of the other residents before Brother Jim arrived. He was so happy to see me. We chatted for a little over an hour - family, life-stories, genealogy - and then I ate lunch with him and the other Brothers. We spent a few more hours working on his website and discussing strategies for making a connection between our families. Around 1530, Brother Jim offered to take me over to the small cemetery where many of his colleagues are buried. Ironically, one of them was Martin Coogan, who we'd recently learned was related to one of our mutual genealogy friends in Australia. Brother Jim actually was one of Brother "Francis Patrick's" students and then knew him in later life (as a peer). It was interesting to hear stories about old Martin (a man born in 1884) - especially the one about how his students begged him to recite "Casey at the Bat" (complete with acting and different voices - all tinged with his Irish brogue). It was only then, while listening to Brother Jim, that I realized (to my horror) that I had let this 81 year old gentleman take me on a walk in the 3C weather for several hundred yards... He didn't seem phased at all, though. We went back to LaSalle Hall and had tea - chatting for a little longer before I departed. Drive home was relative quick (once again, little traffici). Stopped for dinner at McDonalds before heading back to the apartment for an evening of football games. My genealogy hobby always leads me to interesting places and people!