Well, I found Linda today. She is a member of my church. She has been on our rolls for years. I could not tell you the last time she was ever in worship or whether she has even given a penny during that time. The last thing we knew, our mail to her had been returned. The name I had on her, I did not know if that were a maiden name or a married name. I'd tried to find her before, and discovered in the mighty metropolis of Houston that there were two women who had the name I know her as, but for one of them, it was her maiden name. I could never get either on the line.
So today I acted on a hunch and looked at some voter records. I found a Linda, and low and behold I also found a maiden name connected with this voter. I scoured back through some old directories of the church, and bingo, I found her family of origin. There was a girl named Linda with that same maiden name, and this woman's voting record matched the same zip code from which we had had our mail returned. I found her birth date, and then very quickly found her. She doesn't even live in the Houston area any more. She lives in a tiny town sort of WNW of here. I don't have a phone number, but I do have an address.
Next time her birthday comes around, I'll write her a note. She'll probably be surprised, and I'll even suggest a church in her area that she ought to get connected with. It was fun tracking her down. Now there are only about 4-5 people left that I do not know their birth dates, and will probably never be able to get them. Their names are just too vanilla for me to ever find them without spending an exorbitant amount of time and money.
