The Letter

 

 

 

"Just like in the story 'Roots', without stories (Griot) from our ancestors, we have no heritage..."

It really started when my Dad was still alive, and my parents still lived in their house in Robbinsdale. When my wife and I would visit, my Mother had a tablet and pen by her favorite chair. She was very proud of what she was doing. She was writing her life story, starting with her grandparents. As she was in her early 80's, she knew the days of recalling facts, and being able to put them on paper, might be getting short. So she wrote, and wrote, and wrote. Finally she was done, and the letter was 27 pages long. She gave a copy to my sister, and the original to me. I put it someplace safe, and basically forgot about it.

My Dad is now gone, the house was long ago sold, and my Mother is in a care center, pushing 96 years old. She has some dementia, no longer has the ability to write, and her eyesight no longer allows her to read. When we visit her twice a week, I usually read her a story - often times something I have written. As she has read to me for so many years, I now have the honor of reading to her. 

Last fall, I stumbled upon that 27 page letter of Mom's family history. Truthfully, I had forgotten she had written it. I pulled it out of the manila envelope and started to read it. It is a treasure trove of rich family history and stories! My Mother spent so much time on this letter and wanted to be so accurate. She truly did a wonderful job.

I have taken this letter and using voice recognition software, started "reading" it into my computer. I plan to have two versions. The first is just as she wrote it - a personal letter to my sister and myself. The second (with her permission) will be to write it as a story. I will use third person instead of first person. I will embellish it with historical facts from Minneapolis and places she traveled to.

Once I am done with this endeavor, I will share it with my children and cousins. It will be digital and on the "cloud", so hopefully it will be around for a long time.

I love stories. I love telling stories, I love writing stories. However, I love hearing stories even more. Stories are our fabric, they are the building blocks of our heritage. If you have a relative who is starting to age, encourage that person to tell (or write down) his or her stories. They are more valuable than gold.

A woman I once worked with had a saying on the whiteboard in her office. It simply said, "When a person dies, a library closes." We need to make sure we capture as much information from these "libraries" as possible before they close forever. We owe that much to our children, and those who will follow behind them.