Today's the day -- October 23rd 2026, and I'm 83 years old today. It's been a long, fun and educational ride over 30,315 days (727,560 hours). And, hopefully, more to come.
I've had the AI tools write many poems about my ancestors, but I thought it might be useful to have OpenAI ChatGPT5 write a poem about me and my life -- based on what it "knows" about me. After all, it has answered a lot of questions and requests from me, and even writes poetry.
I'm always amazed by the biographies, poems, song lyrics, stories, images, etc. that the AI tools can provide in a very limited time (minutes, not days). It's like they have just been waiting to answer your question or request in an uplifting, inspiring and supportive way.
If I don't have ChatGPT5 write it, who will? It's not Longfellow, Keats, Frost, Cummings, or Poe, but it's mine!
So here is an Ode to Randy the Genealogist at 83, courtesy of the wordsmithing poets at OpenAI ChatGPT5.
Eighty-Three Years — Randy's Life in Stories
On October twenty-third, another year comes round,
And eighty-three years of a life stand gathered on the ground.
Not just the years, but all the lives you've followed through the past—
The names inside the family tree, the stories meant to last.
You started with the questions that genealogists all know:
Who was there? Where did they live? And where did they go?
But questions turned to journeys, to census pages and old stones,
To letters, books and photographs, and people you've now known.
You found them in old records, in newspapers and files,
And slowly brought their lives to light—their hardships and their smiles.
A farmer guiding horses across a field in spring,
A mother raising children, a soldier answering the call to bring.
A blacksmith at his anvil, a sailor far from home,
A young couple choosing wedding rings, and families on the roam.
You've wondered about the ordinary—the things that records miss:
What did they eat? How did they work? What did a day like theirs feel like?
You pictured horses in the furrows, cows out in the fields,
The rhythm of a farmer's year, the harvest that it yields.
And then there is your own story, still unfolding day by day—
A story filled with people who have shaped you on the way.
There is Linda, your companion, beside you through the years,
Through family joys and difficult days, through laughter, work and tears.
There is Lori, and there is Tami, your daughters, grown and strong,
And five grandchildren who remind you how quickly years move along.
There is Lucas, there is Logan, Lori's sons, your grandsons dear;
Tami’s Lauren, Audrey, Charlie too, five reasons to treasure every year.
They are the newest branches on the family tree you've grown,
Five young lives connected to the generations known.
And perhaps one day they'll wonder what their grandfather was like,
What he cared about, what made him laugh, what kept him up at night.
They'll find it in the stories—not merely dates and names,
But all the little pieces that make a family what it claims.
They'll find the books and photographs, the papers carefully preserved,
The countless hours of research that their ancestors deserved.
They'll find Genea-Musings, too, your corner of the world,
Where genealogical discoveries and family stories unfurl.
They'll find a man who never thought that "good enough" would do,
Who checked another record and then checked another too.
And somewhere in that mountain of evidence you've amassed,
They may discover something even more important than the past:
They'll discover that their grandfather thought their future mattered, too—
That preserving where you came from was a gift to them from you.
You've spent a lifetime looking backward, but that's not quite the whole.
The past has been your compass, not the destination of your soul.
For every ancestor you've uncovered, every mystery you've pursued,
You've helped the generations yet to come know where they once stood.
And yes, there are still mysteries—Hannah Smith behind her wall,
Devier and his unknown parents, and questions waiting for a call.
There are clues you haven't followed, old records yet to read,
Because eighty-three, apparently, is no excuse to quit the deed!
There's always one more census, one more book, one more file,
One more long-forgotten ancestor waiting with a smile.
So here's to eighty-three years, to everything you've done—
To family, research, stories, and adventures yet to come.To Lori and Tami, to Lucas, Logan, Lauren, Audrey, Charlie—
To Linda, whose life is woven through the story of you and me.
To ancestors remembered, and descendants still unknown;
To all the lives connected by the branches you have grown.
And here's to you, Randy—still curious, still at work,
Still looking for the missing piece that everyone else might overlook.
May there always be a mystery worth staying up to solve,
A photograph to identify, a family tale to evolve.
May the years ahead bring stories that you haven't written yet,
And moments with your family that you will never forget.
For eighty-three is not the ending of a genealogist's quest.
It's simply another chapter in a life that's been well blessed.
You've spent your years remembering the people who came before.
And now, at eighty-three, your own story matters more.
Because someday, when descendants turn your pages with delight,
They won't just see a genealogist—they'll see Randy,
their grandfather, their father, their husband, their storyteller,
the man who cared enough to remember.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is the ubiquitous infographic about this milestone in my life:
(AI OpenAI ChatGPT5 Infographic -- Randy the Genealogist at 83)
This Ode covers mainly my genealogy and family history life. Some people ask "Why do you write these family stories about dead people?" This is why.
Now I think about all of the events that I've seen and participated in: with my parents, brothers and grandparents; my homes; my education; my work life; my hobbies; my wife, daughters and grandchildren; our friends and colleagues; our church; our vacations; our San Diego; our Padres and Chargers; etc.
I have published a book (using Storyworth and MyStories) and written online stories about those important parts of my life, so they aren't forgotten. This little Ode To Randy the Genealogist at 83 adds to the pantheon of Genea-Musings in it's 21st year.
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Links to my blog posts about using Artificial Intelligence are on my Randy's AI and Genealogy page. Links to AI information and articles about Artificial Intelligence in Genealogy by other genealogists are on my AI and Genealogy Compendium page.
Copyright (c) 2026, Randall J. Seaver
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