One day, while milking cows in the big barn, he heard terrified squeals coming from the pig sty near the pine trees west of the farmhouse. He looked out to see a large hawk swooping down, trying to snatch the young piglets with its sharp talons. So, he grabbed his 12 gauge shotgun, which he kept loaded in the barn, and ran to save the pigs.

Mom and I didn't discuss my grandfather's death again for many years, and I never had sufficient courage to ask my father or grandmother about him. What I would discover was that mom's tearful story had been a lie.

To paraphrase a noted archeologist, we must know our ancestry to know ourselves. To find the truth about my grandfather and his death, I needed to learn so much more about our families. I wanted to hear the stories that passed from generation to generation and to understand family traditions. In this process of discovery, I hoped that I would learn more about myself. And most of all, I hoped that I would finally know how my grandfather died and discover why my family had created the lie.

This book is the story of my search for the truth. The journey would lead me through a series of family events that ultimately took a pandemic to connect. My search was like assembling a 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle with key pieces missing. It would take my imagination and some guesses to fill the gaps.