Heather Calvert, Marketing Executive at ScotlandsDNA, which can trace British and Irish DNA lines back 3k to 10k years. Humans started in Africa; went to Saudi Arabia; and branched to everywhere else. Each of us inherits 6 B letters of DNA from our parents (3B each).

Occasionally tiny errors of copying are made in reproduction and it is these minute changes that are called “markers”. Geneticists can locate marker’s origin and date its creation. By looking at its frequency in modern populations, they can also track the movement of a marker across the face of the earth. Examples of markers are “Jewish” and “redhead”. For those interested, go to website www.scotlandsdna.com.

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last week Robert C Plumb reviewed  his book, YOUR BROTHER IN ARMS: A UNION SOLDIER’s ODYSEY. In the 1960’s his wife’s uncle bought three bundles of letters (marked 1862-63- 64 &65) written by George Pressly McClelland (not related to Gen McClellan) and sent to his siblings, while George was serving with the 155th Pennsylvania Infantry for 2 years and 8 months. Together McCelland’s letters form a perspective and articulate chronicle of his front line experiences in the Army of the Potomac battles: Antietam, Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Getttysburg, the Wilderness, Spotsylvania Court House, the North Anna River, Petersburg, and Five Forks.

He enlisted as an 18 year old private; was wounded in ’64 and came back to his company in 2 months, promoted to Capt and wounded again 2 weeks before Appomattox. His men saved his life by getting him to a hospital in Petersburg (where George’s sister found him 2 weeks later). He lived another 37 years.

Nancy Pulley gave her classification talk. She grew up in Michigan in the 50’s when it was safe for a 9 year old to ride a street car to see a Detroit ball game with her brother. She became a school teacher (math) and a computer systems engineer, had children, and later came to MD.

Nancy currently sells real estate and she told us her secrets to selling. First classify your customer: 1-DRIVER-talk net; 2- ANALITICAL-can’t make their mind; 3- AMIABLEreliable & non-confrontational; and 4- EXPRESSIVE- animated. The key to selling: THINK HAPPY; 1- meditation; 2- random acts of kindness; 3- a dream book of past exceptional experiences.