On the subject of recursion or parent child relationships in data sources. It is a difficult concept if you are non-traditional programmer like myself. I think the hardest part is calling the function over and over and then move out of the loop and back up the tree. I did a lot of searching, especially for a Coldfusion based example. Here is what i found:

EasyCFM example

CuttersCrossing example

Doug Boude example

Kinky Solution : Ben Nadel example

I asked Ben to create a recursive solution for me because the other three were too difficult for me. The Doug Boude example shows a sudo-solution that I actually incorporated but then felt guilty about, but Ben really simplified the concepts and the example is extensible that you can actually use the code in your own solution.