How to tell the story of one’s life? How do you relate nearly 8 decades of events, experiences, decisions, thoughts and feelings in a meaningful and insightful way? Telling one’s life story in chronological order seems logical, but after cogitating on structuring my story, only certain portions of my life could be coherently told in a historical context. As I turned various stories over in my mind it became clear that most parts of my life’s story did not easily lend itself to a strict historical view point. While there were portions that could be told chronologically, I concluded that sequencing through events in my life could not adequately describe who and what shaped me as a person. Nor does this approach provide a meaningful oral history. I believe your life story is a summation of many stories. Some stories are singular while others cover many years. As a consequence, after mulling over how to best tell about my life, it seemed best to include both chronological and stories on specific topics.
Reflections will consider my family background and my early childhood in a typical historical manner. My early childhood can mostly be told in a historical manner because your world consists mostly of just your family. How do you define your early childhood? At this time, my early childhood will cover the first 10 plus years of my life, or maybe a little less. However, I’m sure there will be topical stories with events that happened during these early years, which are melded with events happening years later.
What is a topic, or subject? I believe any event, or series of events, that result in increased knowledge, changed opinion, required a decision or necessitated some action are to be discussed in light of how they add to your persona. What are these potential topics to be included in Reflections? While I have some in mind at this time, others will come to the fore as I proceed. Certainly, obvious ones include family, education, friends,work and travel. Which will be discussed first and subsequently? I have no specific plan on what story to relate first, the order will probably depend upon what memories flash across my mind at any given time. Even so, the family background, including ancestral history, needs to be discussed first, since it forms the basis for most all that follows.
In that regard, it is my observation that for most people, history begins when they are born. This observation goes to the very heart of the two newspaper articles mentioned in the Preface. My own life also demonstrates this same fact. I was not curious enough about my folks’ history and did not realize how not knowing about their lives would affect my own journey. Yes, I heard some stories about their lives, but sadly these stories did not generate enough curiosity to ask questions and find out more about them. Nor was there any thoughts of self introspection as to why, or how, my life was impacted by them. Since I can no longer ask them questions, all that remains are memories and what is stored in an aging memory bank.
I always took great pride in my memory. In fact, I believe my memory played a large part in earning college degrees. Through the years I believed my memory was such that I could easily recall things that happened many decades ago with absolute clarity. My sister, Roberta, recently told me that our Granddad Graham told her my memory was “photographic”. My memory is good, but it never reached that level. While I still believe my memory about events, past and present, remains good, some doubt as to how good has arisen. There are times when my synapses misfire, or don’t fire, which results in a ”Senior Moment”. I was absolutely sure that a distant cousin playing for the St. Louis Browns (now the Baltimore Orioles) in 1949 hit 34 home runs that year. I would have placed lots of money on this number. To my chagrin after recently looking up his record, he hit 24 home runs. I carried this incorrect fact with me for over 60 years, which illustrates how easily your memory of the past can be faulty. I mention this story as a caveat to what you read in Reflections. There will be stories in which you have no knowledge, yet others where you have some recollection. When our memories differ, it is not because one of us is wrong. The differences are due to another interpretation or another perception. We just remember the events differently. After all, eye witness stories usually are at odds. All of this to say, keep an open mind for different interpretations and do not be concerned about having different remembrances.
Before the next essay is posted think how you would tell of your life’s journey. What are the important events that have occurred which impacted you in some meaningful way? What question, or questions, could you ask your elders, or contemporaries, that you are really curious about? I believe the only stupid question is the question not asked and I’ve experienced plenty of those.
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