I’m kind of a mutt when it comes to my genealogy.

My mom is a blonde-haired, green-eyed babe whose parents are of Northern European descent. Past that, I don’t know many specifics about her side. But my dad is half Lebanese and half Sicilian. And it is my dad’s side of the family who are particularly prideful about our origins.

My grandfather, Danny Thomas, would often say, “Never forget your roots.”

He, himself, was born in Deerfield, Michigan. But his parents were from the northern hills of Lebanon. And he wanted to make sure none of us forgot that.

And although I grew up in Los Angeles, far from the Middle East, I don’t speak Arabic and I don’t have many close Lebanese friends, I still feel a connection to the homeland of my great grandparents.

Maybe it is because I look Lebanese. But I think mostly it is because of what a significant figure my grandfather is in my life. And if remembering my roots was important to him, then its important to me.

So at 17-years-old, when I had the opportunity to go to Lebanon with my dad and my two sisters, I was eager to see where my great grandparents called home. (Continue reading…)