Hmm… This week’s topic is going to take a stretch of my imagination. Off to think…
“/ Okay. I’ve showered and shaved. What? You tell me this is TMI? While all that was going on I considered talking about things I’ve heard people say that I might use in my writing, but then I forgot it all.
That’s the story of my life. I forget. But fear not! Those little gems will come back to me when I least expect it and they’ll go into an episode.
There’s a lady at my momma’s care center who’s full of great memories and I’ve gotten a lot from her. She speaks of how she should write a memoir. I tell her she at least needs to get a recorder and record all her memories for someone else to transcribe for her.
One of the stories she’s told me is of when she was a young mother and how she drove across Alaska w-a-a-y back-in-the-day when it was real wilderness with a car-load of children.
She was also a Beauty Queen at one time.
Something else she told me about the other day I’ve already forgotten, but she’s full of stories. I wish I had time to transcribe for her. Time? What’s that?
She’s a great person – the life of the party. Everybody loves Eura.
I hope my blog for this week passes. (: >))
Do you know any older people who have great stories of days gone by?
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
I’ve encountered a lot of people over the years who have (what seem to me) rich experiences or vivid memories. When I’e encouraged them — as you have — to write them down or somehow “record” them, I often get a blank look.
“Who would be interested?” they sometimes ask.
Often, when I suggest their children or grandchildren will be interested, I’ve sometimes heard the reply, “They don’t care.”
I hardly ever have a specific name to reply with, but I try to assure them that someone, somewhere, at sometime will need to draw upon their recollections as a primary resource. After all, they were eye-witnesses to historical events — large and small.
Alas, it’s too vague to be enough reassurance to many of them.
the other type replies I get are from those who feel insecure about their writing, as though their memory has to be PERFECT in the way it’s left for posterity.
It saddens me.
One of the projects which gives me hope is one which collects oral history from the surviving veterans of WW2. Some are videotaped, some are audio-taped, and (I suppose) some may be transcribed. It allows these ex-military to tell their stories — sometimes with prompts, sometimes just episodic recollections.
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I used to love sitting close to my grandparents and listening to them talk about days gone by. There is a brother and sister at my church, the sister is in her 80s and brother is in the 70s. She lived through the Depression. I do enjoy listening to her talk about her childhood but she does not talk about it often. I have considered going in and asking her to tel me more because I really want to set a novel in that time period.
My parents have great stories. Listening to them talk is wonderful. Some things have not changed like some of the teachers treating the country kids like second class citizens but a lot has changed over the years. My kids’ eyes get huge every time we get them to tell stories especially if my dad starts to take out trinkets from the past. Recently, he showed my older son marbles he was given at the movie theater back when he was younger.
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I am so sorry that I have been negligent this week. One of the themes I wanted to bring out in my other blog was to encourage the telling of family stories, at least within a family.We used to hear the older people when we were all young, but no one seems to be telling or listening any more.EVERYONE has a life full of things that happen that almost o one is aware of, and family stories are so important, and they are getting lost. There is one regret that I have heard over and over is”I wish I had asked him/her more about [that].”
I’ve written notes to myself to remember when I get around to writing down what I remember that I heard; maybe I better get on it. I found out so much more about my aunt by going through her papers than I ever knew, and I was close to her all my life!
And “Eura”! I love it!
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I wish I could go back and ask my grandma and dad all the questions I have now. Older people have wisdom that’s often lost on younger people.
I forget things, too. I need to write things down right away, or use the recorder on my phone to keep track of things!
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