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Adoptee soothed by bit of information By Dani Dodge Less than a week after adoptees were granted the right to see their birth certificate, Michael Keith Horn got a letter in the mail. It was from the Center for Health Statistics in Portland. He knew immediately the plain white envelope contained the key to his identity: his birth certificate. "I felt soothed. Just soothed," said Horn, a 46-year-old Applegate man. Oregon voters approved a measure in 1998 that allowed adult adoptees to see their birth certificates. But a cadre of six mothers who gave children up for adoption and wanted to preserve their anonymity fought the disclosures in court. On May 30, the Supreme Court rejected a final request to delay the adoption records law from taking effect. That cleared the way for more than 2,200 adoptees who filed with the state to get their original birth certificates � and the names of their biological parents. Horn was one of the first adoptees to receive his birth certificate in the mail because he�d filed his request shortly after passage of the measure. And although Horn had waited more than 30 years for the moment, he didn�t tear the letter open right there. He carried it inside along with the bills. Sat himself down. Held the unopened envelope to his forehead. Then, with a swift motion, he sliced it open. He saw his mother�s handwriting for the first time. It was neat. Legible. Just like his own. He read his father�s name. His mother�s name. And he finally knew his own birth name: Michael Keith Wescott. "A lot of things feel right now," Horn said. "Now I have names � before I was just someone who was adopted, who came from two nameless, faceless nobodies. Now my mom and dad have names." The family celebrated. His wife brought home a lush white cake emblazoned with "Happy Birthday Mikey." And he enjoyed it, finally knowing his true birthdate. "Yeah, buddy, I had myself two pieces," Horn said. "I never eat more than one, but I wanted two." The next step was to see if he could find his birth family. Horn had been unhappy in his adopted home. He didn�t know he was adopted until he was 15, when his adopted father told him his biological father had died in prison. Horn always wanted to know the truth about his biological parents. Now that he had names, he first checked the area where he�d grown up � Roseburg. No listings. He had an inkling his father might be dead, so he called the cemeteries in Roseburg. Nothing. He tried funeral homes next, and struck pay dirt: One funeral director remembered cremating his father and gave Horn his uncle�s name in Portland. So Horn called Lyle Wescott. "It was pretty strange to talk to Lyle because he didn�t know about me," Horn said. He learned his dad had died about a month and a half after the adoption measure passed. "If not for the people protesting the will of the people, I would have met him," Horn said. "It stinks." He learned his mother died in a house. He learned he has a brother who lives in Oregon. He talked to a woman who was married to his father for many years. Everyone promised to send pictures. "I want to know what they looked like so I can say I got my mom�s nose or my dad�s receding hairline," he said. "That would be cool. The kids really, really want to know what they look like also." His 15-year-old daughter has begun signing her homework with the name Wescott. "She says now we have roots," Horn said. "She wants me to change my name too. I don�t know if I�ll do that. It�s a tough call right now, but it�s something I�m honored to be thinking about.He�s still trying to unravel the story of why he was put up for adoption. He�s got a million questions. But he said he�s found peace. "I�m feeling whole," he said. "Before I just felt like a block of wood and now I feel like a unique individual." Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA