Have They Untied The Knot?

Mr. Lambert has been my neighbor for 4 years already. He moved in with his wife of 14 years to the house previously occupied by the Samsons.

Although that house was not the biggest in the village, it was certainly liveliest. The Samsons always had barbecue parties during the weekends, while the Lamberts usually had dinner parties at least once a month.

Everything changed two years ago when Mr. Lambert’s wife left him. I’m not sure if they’re legally separated already. Some said that his wife already filed a divorce suit, while others told me that the couples simply agreed to live apart.

One of my neighbors asked me if I could do a little sleuthing on the former couple so that we could find out once and for all if the two have already severed their marital ties or are just living apart.

I don’t know if I’ll accede to the request. Mr. Lambert hasn’t been very open with us about the topic, so I’m quite sure that he would be quite upset if we will browse through his marital records.

Idle Mode

Does anybody have an idea on how to shake off holiday hangovers? I still can’t pull myself back up to work. My mind and body have been on “holiday mode” since the 23rd.

My boss allowed me to have the day off yesterday since most of the tasks that I have to finish this week can be done at home. I wasn’t able to accomplish anything, though. What a waste of time. I only had to conduct simple and routine online vital record checks, but I still wasn’t able to do it.

I really have to get my office adrenaline going. I’m expecting waves of paperwork after the New Year, and I’ll surely drown in them if I’ll still be in idle mode by next week.

My officemates have been exhibiting such symptoms, too. I just hope that we would be able to rebound in time. Otherwise, our boss would give us an extended and permanent holiday

Long Live Prof. Langley! :)

I can’t seem to take my mind off the party that I hosted two days ago. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that my social life has been rotting since college graduation. I’ve even hosted bigger parties before. However, the one that I threw on the 23rd was very special since that was the first time that my close college friends and I got together after we received our diplomas.

We spend the whole evening reminiscing. We talked about the campus heartthrob back then and our respective crushes. Of course, the ones who brought their spouses with them were quite silent when we were discussing the topic.

Our conversation suddenly turned to Prof. Langley. He was our very jovial humanities professor. I think nobody skipped his class for the entire semester. I volunteered to conduct a people search on him so that he’ll be able to attend next year’s reunion. Steven threw a distasteful joke by saying that I should do a death records search instead of a live people search since Prof. Langley was already very old when we got out of college.

Well, guess what Steven – I found him. And he’s still alive!

Adopting a Solution

I watched a re-run of 7th Heaven last week. I think I’ve already told you before that it’s one my of favorite TV shows.

The episode that I saw last Friday was about the struggles of two teenage boys who were separated from their mom because the latter had drug and drinking problems. Reverend Camden tried to reunite them, but the mother refused to take responsibility of her sons.

One of the solutions that Rev. Camden thought of was to send the two boys for adoption. However, their mother didn’t want to relinquish her rights over them.

It’s very crushing to see situations or problems such as the one presented in that episode of 7th Heaven. I’m sure that the story was based on an actual one, as many of the program’s episodes are. That’s one of the reasons why I’m quite hesitant when I’m asked to go through adoption records for a study or report. I usually make the lame excuse that the records are sealed. However, I’m fully aware of the fact that closed adoption files can be unsealed.

I wish every adopted child the best this Christmas season.

The Gift of Life and Good Health

Every family relishes the Yuletide season since it’s usually the only time of the year when they’re complete. Sure, there are also other holidays or occasions that draw family members together. However, it is only during Christmas when people will actually go through lengths to shun work and be with their loved ones.

It’s therefore sad and regrettable when a family member dies or gets sick during this season. I don’t know if there are credible statistics as to the number of people who die in the month of December. I hope that the numbers are low. I haven’t tried searching for a study on it on Google yet. Maybe I’ll conduct my own survey or research by checking online death records. But, then again, maybe I won’t. The last thing that anybody needs this season is a sad news or fact.

I hope that all of us will be blessed with good health this Christmas.

Sleigh Bells and Wedding Bells

I’m quite surprised by Hallmark’s findings that many couples don’t think that December is a good wedding month. August topped the survey, followed by June and July.

The festive mood of December should make it an ideal month for exchanging vows. Just imagine, renting a hillside villa for your honeymoon, waking on a chilly morning in each other’s arms, playing in the snow, and sipping a hot cup of chocolate thereafter.

But, then again, ‘tis the season of runny noses. Indeed, who would want to sniff their way through their “I dos.” I guess I’m just biased because December is my favorite month.

I haven’t randomly checked some marriage records yet to verify if the 9th place finish of my favorite month in Hallmark’s survey was justified. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised if I would only find two or three of these vital records that bear the month of December as the date of marriage.

Infidel

It’s Saturday again tomorrow. While some of my officemates would be heading out to the lake to learn fishing, I’ll be stuck in my garage to supervise its renovation. The two carpenters that I’ve hired weren’t able to finish the shelves last week, so they’ll be back tomorrow for the final touches.

My dad loves pocketbooks, so I guess you already know what those shelves are for. I tried reading one novel from his cold war selections. I haven’t finished it yet, but I’m enjoying it so far.

The author of the book I’m reading has a penchant for using the word “infidel.” I already counted 27, and I’m not even halfway through the novel.

An infidel in the former Soviet Union means a traitor, while an infidel here in the United States usually refers to a cheating spouse. The word may bear different meanings, but the process or means of catching a Soviet or American infidel nowadays is basically the same.

While catching a cheating spouse requires some of Ian Fleming’s ideas, it absolutely doesn’t require the use of a revolver. The end product of your sleuthing should be a divorce record (that is, if you caught him or her cheating), not an arrest warrant. 

Wedding Bell Jitters

My cousin flew in from Chicago to visit a relative of ours who’s expecting to give birth anytime this month. Philip is a doctor, and is currently training to become an anesthesiologist.

We had a good long talk yesterday. I asked him how his girlfriend is doing, and he said the she’s been having her mood swings lately.

Lina and Philip had been a couple for almost 4 years already. I always ask Philip on when he’s going to propose. He always says “soon.” Well, I’ve been getting that answer for almost 4 years now. Talk about redefining the word “soon.”

I asked him the same question again yesterday. This time, I got a different answer. It seems that the reason why he doesn’t want to get married is that he’s afraid that they might end up getting divorced in the future. I told him that that’s not the general rule, and that many couples end up parting ways because they didn’t try to understand, analyze, or anticipate the problem.

I don’t know if I was able to convince him that majority of all marriages in America doesn’t end up in divorce. I told him that if he’s really afraid of messing things up once they got married, then he should anticipate every problem that would most likely lead to divorce. He could do this by checking out the divorce records of others in order to learn from their mistakes.

Finding the Womb

I recently met an old high school friend at the airport. I was leaving for Portland at that time, while he was going to visit his parents in Dallas.

Fred showed me a few pictures of his wife and two lovely daughters that were taken on his cell phone. I asked him about his holiday plans, and he said that they’ll be spending it with his parents in Dallas. I told him that they should spend the New Year with his wife’s parents to even things up. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know where they are.

Deborah (Fred’s wife) was just adopted by her present parents when she was just 2 years old. While he wants to find out who her real parents and relatives are, Debbie seems to be hesitant in tracking them down. I told him that it would be hard to through with the undertaking without his wife’s cooperation, especially since adoption records are sealed.

I sure wish that we could’ve talked for a few more hours, but his flight was already called for boarding. Before we parted though, I gave him some quick tips on how to be able to check adoption records even if they are sealed. I hope that Debbie would cooperate with Fred. I’m sure every adopted person is curious as to the identity and whereabouts of his or her parents.

Struck by the Star

Do you ever wonder if the Hollywood star that you’re drooling over is already married? Many actors and actresses are getting dozens of marriage proposals from strangers all over the world whenever they appear in public. This doesn’t surprise me anymore. What amuses me though, is that some of the stars who are getting such proposals are already married.

A friend of mine once asked me, “what’s so amusing about it?” He told me that even ordinary married men and women get courted by other people. I agree with him. It would seem that there are people who don’t respect the sanctity of marriage anymore. However, those who do still commit the mistake of courting or letting themselves fall for a married person.

One of the reasons why many people fall head over heels for Hollywood starts is that they don’t know that they’re already married. This is not surprising, considering that many artists are concealing their true marital status.

I know that wishing for a star on your wedding day is somewhat surreal. However, if you want to keep it a little bit real, make sure that he’s not married. All you have to do to ascertain this is to check his marriage records. This vital record could either make your daydreams more believable or impossible.

The Best Evidence

What is the best evidence that could prove a person’s death?

I’m sure many of you would say that a death certificate would put to rest any suspicion as to whether or not a certain person is still alive. I agree with the majority on this. Indeed, even the courts would forego with lengthy eyewitness accounts about a person’s demise if it is shown a verified copy of the deceased’s death certificate.

However, there are times when death records do not conclusively prove that a person has already passed away. Believe it or not, there are documented cases where the person who was supposed to be dead appeared in the probate proceeding which was constituted to determine the amount of property that each of his heirs should receive.

I’m not saying that you receive or look at death certificates with a doubting mind. My point is, do not accept anything as gospel truths. If you’re confronted with any vital record, make sure that it is authentic and that the facts or claims stated therein are very likely to be true.