The contents of this Blog were started as captured thoughts when I was located in Langdon ND
MEMOIRS …
VIPs
“… Memoirs, I
had so much fun writing mine….”
These words
drifted through the bookshelves of a small library in Landon, North Dakota, and
drew my attention from casual browsing to the conversation of an elder lady and
middle age man. My first reaction was
“Memoirs are written by Very Important People (VIP), not by us ordinary folks”;
but as I have pondered this over the years, it would appear almost everyone is
a VIP to their family friends.
Therefore, why shouldn’t we take time and capture our memoirs for future
relatives and friends, just as Presidents and other public figures do.
Have you ever
wondered how a grandparent, past relative, or a highly respected ancestor may
have sounded or looked as they reflected on their life experiences and beliefs? Our ancestors were limited in time and media
available to pass on to us their reflections of past personal memories;
however, we are living in an age which allows any of us to capture our spoken
words on voice recordings or our thoughts on paper. In addition to these, our visual personality
can be stored in the form of photo-graphics, slides, movies or video captures
some of the essence of the living personality which is unavailable in the
written words alone. Written words,
voice and dynamic visual recordings can combine to give us a media which will
capture living characteristics and insights of our personality in a “time
capsule” for those that will walk where we have walked.
How nice it
would be to visit, via., life like voice and image recordings, with someone we
knew as a small child or someone our parents regarded with high esteem
.
There is a
wealth of experiences, knowledge, and beliefs in the minds of all of us,
especially those who have reached the golden years of life. It seems such a waste, to lose this wealth of
wisdom, knowledge and experiences, for lack of recognizing it’s value ease of
capturing and passing it along to loved ones and future generations of relatives
and friends.
While I was a
Freshman at the University of South Carolina in the 1950s, I researched my
Dad’s family history and prepared a paper on “Two Hundred years of Baxleys” for an English course,.
How
interesting and valuable it would have been to have the opportunity to visit
with some of previous relatives through a memoir.
In too many cases the only footprints of
these persons were six to sixteen letters of a name and dates on a tombstone,
or in a legal registry. The six to
sixteen letters of a name just do not provide any depth of insight into a
person’s experiences, knowledge, personality, humor, character or beliefs.
This lack of personal information raises
unanswerable questions; who were these persons, what did they believe, what
experiences shaped their lives, what discoveries of life did they make,
etc. I would greatly have appreciated
having their memoirs to read and reflect on.
Care and
thoughtful organization of our mental wealth is an essential step in preparing
an interesting and coherent blend of special experiences, beliefs and
knowledge. Planning what is to be passed
along, voice or image recordings or conversations with family or friends will
pave the way for separation of wheat from the chaff and consideration of time
and costs must also be made to effectively capture a memoir on any of the
available dynamic recording media.
However, this type memoir would be a valuable gift for those in the
future who may ponder their roots as we have at one time or another.
One never
knows what thoughts may spring from the process of reflecting one’s life. No doubt, many will be of the weed variety
that strive to choke out more valuable vegetables in our mental gardens. If the mental weeds are pruned, our meals of
life will be enhanced by the flavor and nutrition of our mental vegetables of
thought.
We should
study our past gardening techniques and determine how they influenced our paths
and responses to the sour and sweet experiences of life. Understanding the successful gardening
techniques of life is wisdom which should be passed along to our friends and
future generations.
Thoughtful
reflection should enhance our personal conversations with family and friends,
and pave the way of developing a valuable and interesting “time capsule”
memoir.
I ask you to reflect upon your own bank of
mental experiences, beliefs, and knowledge and invest it in a memoir media that
can be valued by future relatives, friends and loved ones. Memoirs are developed by VIPs; each of us can
be a Very Important Person in the future if we take the time and initiative to
prepare a memoir in a careful and coherent manner.
It will take work to do it, but remember what
the lady said in Langdon, ND, “I had so much FUN!”
