Letter to the Editor

Unexpected late-in-life genetic gifts

Wed, 05/25/2016 - 11:45am

Dear Editor:

As we grow up in life we measure ourselves largely based on a comparison “game” that measures who we are and who we want to be. We thought we were in charge of the paths we walked. We forgot all the curve balls life can throw our way. If we grew up in a loving home we were lucky. Finding our inherited talents were a lot harder if growing up years were fragmented between struggles and safety.

While choices are important, genetics plays a very large role. Until my mid-sixties I believed genetics was all about health. If one or more parents were alcoholics, you stood a strong chance of becoming addicted. On my mother’s side many were diabetic.

Preparing this letter drew me further into the oddities of late-in-life talent gifts and their origins. In my mid-sixties I was inspired to start quilting stained glass windows I had designed for a new church access steeple. It was after delivering a memory quilt to my dad that I learned his mother had started quilting in her late sixties. Research uncovered genetic “talent genes.” Creating quilts, an unexpected genetic gift, continues in my life today.

Three years ago another unexpected genetic gift surfaced – writing letters to the editor. My father had been an actuary, a probability statistician for large insurance companies. When I was 17, my father began writing letters to the editor providing facts to consider on matters of race and justice. We knew about them, but did not read them ourselves. Three years ago I wrote my first letter to the editor – another unexpected genetic gift. I am driven to research every day and gather data about multiple topics until the inspired path breaks open. Sometimes it comes from Sunday’s sermon and sometimes it just happens. Most letters end with a question.

Each one of us carries unexpected talent gifts of our parents and grandparents -- some appearing early in life while others surprise us. It is unpredictable -- science shows that “combinations of two people's DNA exceeds the world population.” We remain unique individuals whether the genetic trail impacts health or talent. How many unexpected genetic gifts will surface in your lifetime?

Jarryl Larson

Edgecomb