Many years ago my oldest brother gifted me with a ring. It was the product of a "family crest" kiosk at the local mall in St Petersburg where he lives.
Now, I'm not a wearer of jewelery, much less some kind of generic pseudo-feudal heraldic device, but my interest was piqued. I mean, why that particular crest? Was it the only Martin family crest? Which Martin got the crest and were we related?
Yes, I am a bit manic in this regard and, yes, I did wind up looking for answers.
The crest on the ring consists of a white or silver cross on a three-step plinth with a radiant sun on the left and a crescent moon on the right of the cross-arm. The shield on which the cross stands is a dark blue. Above the shield is a silver Esquire Helm facing left with closed visor. The motto on the ring was something like, "Deus auxilium mihi," meaning "God helps me" or some such.
Being more of an agnostic with Buddhist leanings than a Christian, this motto didn't do anything to endear me to the crest. All the more reason to see what else was out there. The search was on.
After a little digging in public libraries I discovered there are quite a few Martin family crests. My favorite consists of a silhouette of a chimpanzee holding a hand-glass (mirror) with the motto, "He who looks at Martin's ape, Martin's ape shall look at him."
Now that's a motto I can get behind!
Having adopted it (as much as I have), it seemed a good name for this blog. Time will tell if you, the reader, and I, the ape . . . er . . . author will look at each other. Write and let me know.
