i love to read, don't you? My favorites are historical novels because you read personal stories in the context of actual historical events. That's exactly what today's seniors have to offer. Many of us were born at the time of the Great Depression and have had front row seats in living out the incredible advances of the 20th Century.
Yes, every individual today has an amazing story to tell; some happy, others filled with tragedy and sorrow. They are real stories however and they are like libraries waiting to be read. When you consider the accounts of a 90 year old today it means he or she was born in 1929. What was happening at that time? What were women's fashions? How did people spend their leisure time? How did they communicate? How did they travel? All these circumstances make wonderful stories because what happened 90 years ago is totally different from today. Did people then experience love, hate, disappointment, success, fame and simple enjoyments? Let us all learn what life was like 80, 90 years ago by listening and reading today's personal stories.
For example, my friend Gert, who is 95, has an incredible story that was recently published on the front page of the Chicago Tribune. Imagine her surprise when that appeared! Gert's daughter discovered an old box filled with letters written by Gert's fiancee in 1944 while he was serving in the Pacific during World War II. Gert remembers when she heard the tragic news that her beloved fiancee was killed in the Battle of Zig Zag Pass in the Philippines. Of course, no email then, so she heard the news weeks after he died. What a heart wrenching story followed, detailing how she coped, how she went on with her life, falling in love again, marrying and keeping the 'first fiancee' secret from her 4 subsequent children. We can all learn from this story of dealing with tragedy but then finding new love and family by trusting in her Christian faith.
Then there is the story of Betty, who worked at a local restaurant as a baker with her special pie making gifts. Now, in her senior years, with diminished eyesight, Betty has taught the kitchen chef of her independent living facility her pie secrets so that Betty's pies are on the monthly menu. What a gift of knowledge she has shared.
My friend, Joyce, leads and encourages a group of seniors to write their own stories. A few of these seniors write longhand because they don't use a computer. Their stories are being written for their own families to learn what hardships they endured and what thrilling experiences they enjoyed as farmers, as immigrants and as wartime survivors in the past 20th Century. Without Joyce's help those stories would not be written.
Even the information that was communicated, the terminology that existed has dramatically changed over the years. Recently a group of fifth graders was shown a rotary phone. Yes, the kind of phone that was around before cell phones. The 5th graders were told to use the phone. Amazing! These kids had no idea that you use your finger to move the dial to the chosen letter and number and call, for example, Ha 7-2447 ('Ha' was abbreviation for Hackensack, my own phone in New Jersey). And "Number, please?" Fifth graders have no idea what that meant. Of course, we seniors know that meant the local phone operator was busy connecting people with their calls. Remember 'party lines'? Did we respect our neighbors or as bad little boys and girls giggle and listen in on conversations?
Remember life with no TV? Back in the 1940s my brother and I would plant ourselves in front of the radio between 5 and 6 o'clock in the evening and listen avidly to the 15 minute mystery story segments. And, of course, the popular "Lone Ranger" 1/2 hour series drew millions of listeners. No picture, no reality TV, but we quietly used our imagination to envision those adventures in our mind with the radio sound effects and voices. How our minds were stimulated using our own imaginations.
Yes, as all of us go through life we are compiling libraries filled with knowledge, wisdom and experiences which should be shared with our friends and families. Those shared libraries will enrich everyone's life. So, write your stories, build your library and announce to the world that your life was worth living.
