Just 4 Kidz - William Penn Life

Tibor’s Take with Tibor Check, Jr.Kindred spiritsThe definitions of the term “kindred spirits” are as variedas the regions of Hungary. My topic for this monthconcerns the connections we humans share, whether theybe by blood, religion, nationality, common goals or someinnate subliminal bond.My apa (father) and his longtime friend and best manin his wedding, Sonny Tollas, are perfect examples of kindredspirits. Both fellows are linked by all but one of thefive aforementioned types of connections. At those timeswhen I am privy to their conversations, I am amazed justhow similarly they think when discussing and decipheringmatters of circumstance and resolve. Only once have Iever seen the two differ in ideological thought and conviction.Their combined mental consciousness is so similarthat it appears both are communicating telepathically. Ihave observed this phenomenon countless times. Theycan be across a room from each other, glance at the othermomentarily, then meet hours later and commence with aconversation that seems to have been going on for hours.Such kindred spirits are truly rare.Another type of “kindred spirits“will be experiencedin the future by many from my generation, in particular,those of us who are of American-Hungarian ancestry andwant to know where our past generations came from. Wewill be linked by our desire to know why our ancestorssettled in America, who they married, what town theycame from, whether we have more relatives still in Hungary,and so forth. For some of us, obtaining that informationmay be as simple and easy as a phone call. Unfortunately,for many others, it may be far more difficult, if notimpossible to acquire.In the past year or so, I have discovered long lost relativesthat I never met. The first such discovery happenedright here in America. In fact, it was in Youngstown, Ohio.The other discovery involved relatives in Csót, Hungary.Here is the story of connecting two kindred spirits herein America.A little over a year ago, my brother Endre was playinghis cimbalom at the Youngstown Hungarian HeritageDay. This annual event has been taking place forover a quarter century. Good food, music, history andculture make this a must attend event for the Hungarian-American community in the Tri-State Area. A small ad inthe Vindicator newspaper and an ad for the event on myfamily’s Magyar radio program are all it takes to attracthundreds of Magyars to 2219 Donald Avenue. Each eventis packed with fun and excitement. This particular time,it turned out to be a never-to-forget event for everyone inmy five-member család (family).About an hour into the event, two well-dressed andarticulate ladies approached my brother after he playeda rousing rendition of the Ritka Buza. One of the womenasked him if he was a member of the Check family.“Yes,” he answered, “and my apa is over on the otherside of the room talking to someone. May I ask you why?”Four generations of the Cseh familymeet for the first time at Youngstown’sHungarian Heritage Day.The other woman said, “I think we are cousins ofyours.”My brother immediately summoned my apa to comeover and meet the two “new” relatives.The second woman then said they had seen an articleabout my father in the Youngstown Vindicator when Endreplayed his cimbalom at the Youngstown State UniversityArts Festival this past July. They found out thatour family would be at the Hungarian Heritage Day anddecided to meet us in person.The first woman then introduced herself as Joan Csehand her companion as Debbie Cseh. Their actual surnameswere different, since both were married, but theywere of Cseh lineage.My brother returned to his cimbalom playing and myapa went to a corner of the hall and spent the remainder ofthe event talking with them.Since that first encounter, my apa, Joan, Debbie andthe rest of my family have met several times, exchanginginformation, pictures and family histories from both hereand in Hungary. Many ancestral-related questions haveyet to be answered. Most of those inquiries deal with peopleand events dating back two generations and beyond.If only my apa and cousins would have asked questionswhen the older generations were still here. Still, it is quitereassuring to know there are more Cseh család membersliving here in the U.S.A.The big questions concerning our newly-discoveredcousins remain how the relationships between our predecessorsdissolved away and how are lineages crossed inthe first place.The narrative of my other “long-lost relative discovery”is not quite as dramatic as the first. In this particular case,my parents--through a combination of a little luck, divine6 º April 2013 º William Penn Life