Three, Maybe Two Degrees of Separation Between DD and Arctic Explorer Edward Israel

Dusty D felt a shiver down my spine of mingled astonishment and awe when I heard today from the daughter of a living (90 years old!) relative of Polar explorer (and recent AA Chronicle story subject) Edward Israel!

I'll be talking to this lady on the phone soon.

Imagine.

I love to read about polar exploration history, have about 6 feet of books on the subject, everything from Shackleton to a giant tome on the Cook-Peary controversy...and to have a faraway voice coming down the telephone wire from an actual living relative of the people I read about...it's as if the book opened up and a living person walked out. Unbelievable. I'll definitely tape and transcribe the conversation and post it here.