Contraire. I have met up with some second cousins, having no cousins at all on my father's side and this was just in the last couple of years. One was in Ireland, by marriage. I missed meeting her husband. Yes, I do consider myself cousins with the Flynns in Chicago and Spelmans in Wisconsin and Deverys I hope to meet in the Portland area and DOnovans in California (who will be having a big family reunion in Spokane next year and I have been invited to it)and the Fitzgeralds in Ireland. Today I hope to maybe find a couple of Rex's in the Seattle area that might be second cousins. I am blessed with being related to Yusinovichs in Seattle and Williams and Cornwalls and Deckers in other parts of the US. And actually someone in Australia did track me down and provided me with information on the Devery Hotel near Ayres Rock and how respected they were by the traveling men there. I have talked to some second cousins in South Dakota and hope to someday make it to the Milwauke Irish fest where some cousins ten times removed yearly attend. Families became very fractured due to wars and poverty and diseases and why would anyone begrudge trying to build a few bridges to reunite them?    mg