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As I sorted through closets, dressers, desks and boxes in my mom’s house after she died, I discovered a piece of gray cardboard stuffed in a dresser drawer in the guest room. The cardboard stirred memories: it was the kind that was the backing to the tablets handed out in school every six weeks for us to use for in our school work. Why would Mom save the backing from a school tablet? Nothing appeared to be on the cardboard. Then, as I turned it over, I noticed writing . . . when I tilted the cardboard just right into the light, I saw writing. In fact, pencil writing covered both sides. Single line entries. Each entry dated. I read a few and realized: This was a diary of Mom and Dad’s courtship!
Mom had written one line summaries of each of their dates from their first date until the night Dad proposed. They met in 1936 and married January 12, 1938. I wondered why Mom was so sparse in her writing. Why didn’t she elaborate on descriptions of some of their dates? Then I remembered: the nation was still emerging from the Depression. Mom came from a farming family with 6 kids. There probably was not a whole lot of paper available for frivolous activities like keeping a diary. Probably she didn’t want her brothers to know either as I’m sure they would have teased her. But Mom did the best she could and fifty-eight years later I found her simple, one line, diary entries on what at first appeared to be blank cardboard. I didn’t find any other diaries of any description as I cleaned and sorted and tossed and gave away items in preparation to sell the house.
I still have that cardboard diary. I’ve filed it with other family documents of interest – old deeds, death notices, report cards from my grandparents, parents, siblings and even some of my own. I’m glad I stumbled upon the simple courtship diary. Although the comments were short and to the point, each spoke volumes about the growing attraction and budding love between Honey and Emery who would ultimately marry, have 3 kids and celebrate 51 years of marriage at the time of Dad’s death.
What papers do you have in boxes or drawers somewhere that tell a family story?
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In the October 2008 issue of Writer’s Digest, in an article on blogging, best selling author M.J. Rose shared data on blogging that she had obtained from technorati.com. At that time there were 112.8 million active blogs. Each day brought the creation of 175,000 new blogs. Postings per day totaled 1.6 million which works out to 18 postings per second!
For years, when asked, “Do you have a blog?” I answered, “So far I’ve successfully avoided that.” Why then do I this day become part of the 175,000 new blogs for August 6, 2009? I’m finally ready. It is as simple as that.
I do not intend to provide ongoing chatter on how to write the next best seller nor will I share much in terms of technical aspects of writing. Other blogs address those challenges. What I will share are reflections on writing as it has influenced my life over the years and continues to do so. I will also share stories on writing from some of my clients: what they have experienced, felt, learned.
My mission is to encourage others to write, to tap into their untapped treasure troves of stories, experiences, knowledge.
Dan Poynter, self publishing expert and author of over 100 books, stated, “I don’t want people to die with a book still inside of them.” I share Dan’s sentiment. The book inside many individuals is not necessarily intended for a wide audience. The market could simply be one’s family but that is an important market – writing of traditions, history within a family that might be lost if someone doesn’t write it down.
Getting people to “write it down” - sharing stories and experiences and traditions and . . . how capturing that history does impact live, that is what this blog will be about.
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