Legacy

For the past few weeks, I've had this old guy come into my office. The first time he came in he stayed for nearly forty-five minutes talking to us about completely random things, like smoking and how the landscaping trade has changed over the years. He was a nice old man, but I had a lot of work to do so I kind of tuned him out while I worked, answering him every now and then so as not to seem rude. After he left, my boss told me he has been coming in for years, and has always been very talkative.

He came in a few more times to adjust his order, or to pick up some supplies, and every time he dealt with me. I'm ashamed to admit that this bothered me at first, as I do have quite a bit of work to do and I don't really have time to stop and chat for half an hour most days. However, the last time he came in I was already having an awful day. This time, instead of feigning interest in whatever he was saying, I decided to take the time to really listen to him. We went outside and loaded up his ute with a couple hundred pavers (by hand, because the knuckleheads at the manufacturing plant loaded his pavers onto the same pallet as our stock, meaning I couldn't simply use the forklift to put them on his ute) and I listened to him. He started telling me how he'd been researching his family tree and heritage, and over years had traced his name back as far as 1,000 years. He came into contact with some of the people who shared his name, most of whom were only too happy to pass on whatever information they had.

It got me thinking about my own name, and the history that goes with it. My background is hard to trace, as it covers quite a few nationalities, but it must be possible. The thought of linking the Mallows name back to its roots excites me. I have no idea where it began, or how far back it goes, but I'd like to find out. I also have no idea how to go about achieving this task, but if I'm able to do it, it'd be a great gift to pass down to my children.