Family history can be interesting...

[Zao]

So I was talking to my dad tonight about random stuff to do with music and guitars, and an old story came up... When my dad was in junior high, some kids broke into the orchestra locker and smashed all the instruments. Among them was my dad's violin that had been passed down through my family for over a hundred years, came over the Atlantic from Germany, etc. The guys that did it bragged about it, but nothing happened because there were no witnesses.

A few years later, the kids that did it were smoking some weed with my uncle (father's younger brother) and this one kid named Jeff fired a starter pistol in my uncle's face. Needless to say, it was pretty traumatic and, being stoned, it freaked him out really badly. So, being a big brother, my dad hunted the sonofabitch down and broke his nose and busted his front teeth out. His name is Jeff Fahey.


IMDB that name. My dad kicked Ike Clanton's fucking ass way back when. Interesting to see where people end up and where they came from.

[Rob]

I have (had) a relative on my dad's side who had land and a factory in Russia. He lost it all in the Bolshevik nationalizations.

My mum's side has all kinds of stuff, funny and horrible. One of them apparently brought home a servant from India--and renamed her with a proper English name lol

[Jibba-Jabba]

Irish family in New York- son raised by father and opened a business right next door to his dads and drove him out of business.

Russian side- Russian guy wants to escape the revolution fighting and so trainhopped till he got to a ship that he stowed away on. He had nothing but a bag of potatoes for food. One night woke up and a guy was trying to steal his potatoes so he killed him with his bare hands, dumped him overboard. Once in the harbor he jumped ship and swam to shore. He begins walking around and sees fireworks, people come up to him shaking his hand, everybodies happy. He thinks wow, America is great! Turns out it was new years eve. That water must have been real cold.

[Faceman]

Jeff Fahey has your father to thank for his career.

[Zao]

Jeff Fahey has your father to thank for his career.

Probably. My old man said he really smoothed out after that.

[Stroddy]

Your pop beat up The Lawnmower Man.

[Zao]

Indeed. Someone find a zoomed in pic of his face, my dad said he split his upper lip pretty bad. There's a scar, apparently. Unless makeup dept did something about it. He was also in Silverado, which is when this whole thing became known to us. The mustache hid it though.

[Stroddy]

[Zao]

And there it is. Thank you Stroddy. Unique evening complete.

[straybullet]

I am related, by marriage, to Jose Calugas, the only Filipino to ever receive the Medal of Honor. His brother was married to my grandmother's sister, or somesuch kind of relation; dunno what that makes us. He also was from my family's hometown of Leon, Iloilo. Definitely my coolest relative ever, wish I'd met him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Calugas

Citation:

Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Battery B, 88th Field Artillery, Philippine Scouts.
Place and date: At Culis, Bataan Province, Philippine Islands, January 16, 1942.
Entered service at: Fort Stotsenburg, Philippine Islands.
Born: December 29, 1907, Barrio Tagsing, Leon, Iloilo, Philippine Islands.

G.O. No.: 10, February 24, 1942. Citation:

The action for which the award was made took place near Culis, Bataan Province, Philippine Islands, on 16 January 1942. A battery gun position was bombed and shelled by the enemy until 1 gun was put out of commission and all the cannoneers were killed or wounded. Sgt. Calugas, a mess sergeant of another battery, voluntarily and without orders ran 1,000 yards across the shell-swept area to the gun position. There he organized a volunteer squad which placed the gun back in commission and fired effectively against the enemy, although the position remained under constant and heavy Japanese artillery fire.

He also survived the notorious Bataan death march. Certified grade-A badass.