Back in March I confessed that I’ve spent years scouring old family albums in search of one - just one - presentable ancestor worthy of a frame above the mantel.

It’s a Southern thing, I think, the obligatory oil painting of a prosperous-looking relative hanging in a place of pride. Yet I’ve lived in the South long enough to want one, too.

Sifting through a box of recently discovered photos of my mother’s family, I find nothing but profoundly unattractive ancestors and eccentricity. My grandmother, Bertha von Blonske - stage name, Blanche Boyston - appeared in many silent films including “The Great Train Robbery” where she played a frightened passenger. She had a flair for the theatric. See for yourself.