Whorable was happy to be home. Exhausted from the day, she walked into her parlor, poured herself a scotch, kicked off her shoes and plopped down on her sofa. Her mind wandered as she processed the events of the day. One conversation in particular troubled her.

While she was deep in thought her bodyguard, Buster Cherry, had entered the room. She didn’t notice him until he walked over  to refill her glass with more whiskey. Startled she looked up at Buster and then laughed.

Hello Buster, thank you for the refill. I didn’t realize I drank so much so quickly.

Buster smiled at Whorable as he put the decanter of scotch back on the bar.

You seemed deep in thought. I didn’t mean to disturb you.

Whorable sighed…

You’re not disturbing me at all. I was just thinking to myself and wondering…  When did I become so damn jaded?  I met a new associate today and when he introduced himself, I looked at him, smiled and thought… he’s not new. He’s probably some thug from another city looking to make a fresh start. I asked him where his father was from… Chicago? Philly? New York or possibly Detroit?  He looked at me, frowned and said; Why does no one believe me? I am from the old country and just arrived here a few days ago. I’m just looking for a job in an organization I can work my way up in.

Wanting to believe him I smiled and told him it was nice to meet him and I wished him success in this world of ours.

Buster noticed his boss emptied her whiskey glass again. He grabs the bottle, fills her glass  and begins to speak.

Boss, I don’t think you’re jaded at all. You know as well as I, there are some that want to hide their lineage. Some because their ancestors made mistakes and others because they want to make it on their own with no preconceived notions that are based on who their kin was.

Whorable  nods in agreement as she slouches further into the sofa and sips her drink.

Jaded? Perhaps.  Untrusting? Sure.

I'm fairly new to these shores, but definitely not the first.  Do I pull out my soapbox to stand on it and scream who my father was?  No.  Not because I am ashamed, or hiding something.  

In a private moment I would certainly divulge my ancestry, but honestly - they are irrelevant to who I am.  I have the utmost loyalty to my crew leader and he deserves that.  If my father did something to make someone angry in a past life, my family doesn't deserve the danger of a war for someone who is already dead.  

I got something to say about this and I hope you understand what I'm saying. 

I was born on these shores, my ma and pops raised my brothers and I in New York before they retired to a happy warm little island and left my brothers and I to fend for ourselves. My family line is long here and we're no strangers to the goings on and yet I wasn't too sure when I stepped into a new town that I WANTED to drag my lineage into it. I know family members who decided not to, they kept their anonymity and tried to stay that way, building new names and legacies for themselves apart from the Jamieson name. 

It's okay to not want to be wholly identifiable. Yes, there are families that again and again cause massive problems, there are kids who are ashamed of their families or their families leaders and wish to shake off the bad taste left in their mouths by a piss poor leader or crew that brought ruin on their folks. 

And yeah there's gonna be those who are angry, who carry a grudge, who do everything in their power to rise through the ranks so they can start a war because they're pissed off. It's awful, it's terrible, it's hateful and stupid, but it fucking happens. I'm not excusing it, far from it, I'm saying that it's sometimes the way things go. When my ma was still in the business I saw good men go off their rockers and do terrible things only to have their sons live with the shame and regret their father brought on them. Yeah there are some folks who want to hide that shame. 

Your family, their experience, their leaders, cities, or names are 100% yours to withhold. There's some good, there's some bad, but it's the name you make for yourself that counts.