Purpose Is the Prize (ePub)

Paul Arthur Hastings

Ancestry.com DNA Ethnicity Estimates

Possible Variance

Updated September 2021

England/NW Europe 42 percent 33-63 percent

E. Europe/Russia 19 percent 13-33 percent

Sweden /Denmark 17 percent 0-25 percent

Germanic Europe 13 percent 0-56 percent

Scotland 3 percent 0-13 percent

Norway 2 percent 0-9 percent

Ireland 2 percent 0-8 percent

Baltics 2 percent 0-11 percent

100 percent estimates

These DNA estimates coincide with ancestral voyages beginning in the 1700s. My DNA lists Newfoundland and Southeastern Labrador settlers, to include Western and Southern Newfoundland settlers.

As someone might logically surmise, I am pro-immigration. The United States of America has legal immigration with numbers upward of one million new citizens each calendar year. I will continue to support this legal immigration as it has brought so many blessings to myself and so many families across the country. These blessings I don't take for granted.

Five years ago, my youngest son, Warren, enrolled at USC in Los Angeles. He attended the Thornton School of Music. After his first year, a new computer was required. Following this update, he was kind enough to offer me his obsolete laptop. I thankfully accepted his generous offer and promptly stowed it in my closet. At that time, I had no desire to rush into the twenty-first century. As the years passed, I simply went about my life in the usual manner.

At a later point, Warren had set up an ancestry.com account for me, which I appreciated. Having no computer experience or desire to be online, the laptop remained dormant for another approximately three and a half years (my timelines continue to be fuzzy as recent events have my head and heart spinning wildly in a constant circular motion). I was restless with little to do in my retirement. I began to write, starting with some comedic material and various political satire. This wasn't very emotionally satisfying.

In 2019, Warren entered his senior year at USC. Shortly thereafter, Warren graduated with his degree in music industry. It was in Warren's focus and degree where I found my inspiration. Music has been one of my passions throughout life, and Warren has proven to be such a great role model for me. His musical endeavors, during his young life through his growth into the finest of young men, are worthy of praise. He sang in his church choir as a boy. He and a girlfriend received a blue ribbon in the Southampton County Fair for a duet they performed. He attended many concerts through the years. His father knows this because his father bought the tickets. That is our purpose in life.

When he graduated and received his degree, he embarked on his professional musical journey in his chosen industry. His hard work and perseverance motivated me to follow suit. The student teaches the teacher. In just under a year, I have completed seventeen lyrical compositions. That's a good start; however, I can't stop! I have too much to say. I have too much to share.

Putting pen to paper had never crossed my mind until my fifty-ninth year on this wonderful planet. It has given me happiness, joy, contentment, and a feeling of being whole again. The healing properties in writing are indeed palpable. I have learned that a person's core needs this outlet to be true to oneself. It puts us on a path to healing. Warren's graduation twenty-nine months ago is but one special event recently enjoyed by our family. We welcomed my first grandchild on February 6, 2021. Ava Marie Hastings, born healthy and happy in Kansas City, Kansas. Personally, I hope Ava has many brothers and sisters in her future. I think most men would rather have a boy first. I disagree with that premise. I was pleased as punch to welcome Allison Linnell Hastings in July of 1989. Emily arrived in September of 1995. They will always be "Daddy's little girls."