The Mystery of My Half Sister

​You never know what you'll find searching the 'net.
​About the picture.

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The Mystery Re-ignited
I always knew I had a half sister somewhere.  Rumor had it she was somewhere on the west coast.  My father was married once before he married my mother.  I knew there were two children, a boy and a girl.  My dad's first family was in his home state of Pennsylvania.  He divorced and moved to Detroit.  I always heard that that marriage was stormy and that I shouldn't ask too many questions, so I never did.

What I Knew

I remember visits from my half brother who was a long distance truck driver.  He seems like a good guy.  Always offered to take me on a run with him, but that never came about.  I remember him parking his semi and trailer on our street in Redford.  The neighborhood kids were always curious.  He didn't stay long.  Occasionally we'd visit him and his family in central Pennsylvania.  And that was about it.  He passed away years ago and now I can't remember how I heard.

But my half sister was another story.  I remember one encounter near the town where my father grew up.  We there around the Fourth of July for our annual family vacation in Pennsylvania to visit my dad's relatives.  We were at the Fourth of July parade.  I remember this young woman and my dad talking on the corner.  Later my dad said that was my half sister.  The only time I saw her.

Curiosity Has Occasionally Killed Some Cats

Now, over fifty years later, I was doing some ancestry search on the internet when I found my dad's obituary.  I'd never seen it.  It listed everyone I knew about including me, my aunt and uncle, my dad's parents and his third wife whom he had married after he returned to Pennsylvania when my mother died.  And there was my half sister listed too.   So of course I had to check it out.

What Next?

Thanks to 411.com, I seem to have found my half sister listed in Portland, age 80,  Maiden name same as my last name.  Somehow I know it is her.  Now my dilemma is, should I contact her?  I remember being cautioned not to.  The divorce was not pretty I was told. I can't imagine after all these years it being a problem, though.  Just curiosity more than anything at this point.  

And So My Quandry. 

What could she tell me about my dad, my grandparents and other family stories?  Do I really want to know?    I'll think about it a while then decide what to do...if anything.  And just to add to the curiosity, I just read the obit again.  It lists that my dad was pre-deceased by his parents and a son.  Name not listed.  But my half brother I knew was listed.  

Fascinating what you find when you aren't really looking.  I'll let you know what I decide to do next, if anything.  Should make an interesting chapter in my memoirs.