The first version of this article was written and published on another of my blogs in 2013. 1915. The year seems worlds away from today. My Dad was born in a small farmhouse outside the burg of Colburn, Indiana on October 14, 1915 to Dorothy and Ellis, a young married couple. He was the first […]
His Birthday and the Long Death of My Brother
I am sad that I cannot make a chocolate upside down birthday cake for you. I am happy you are no longer in pain. I am still angry that I am alone and that you and my other brothers all abandoned me in this life. I am telling your story as best I can. It has been 49 years since you were blown up on your damn birthday.
Poetry as Memoir
There are many ways to preserve relationships in written records. For those who have hundreds of pages of personal poetry, take the time to peruse what you have captured about family and events set in motion by family members as you create any retrospective about your life or family. Poetry often captures what prose cannot […]
When Christmas Hurts
A huge hurt builds inside me. My father died on Christmas Day 1986. It is a familiar, old hurt. This year it is freshly layered with new hurts and loss. Five months ago the my last living brother died. He was the eldest of my siblings. 13 months ago my brother who was closest to […]
Last Minute Legacy Gifts
There has recently been a flurry of new products related to capturing social media posts, digitizing images and letters, as well as platforms for capturing audio stories. This was discussed in an earlier WLP post. But which one do you choose as a gift in the short week before Christmas? Turn around time is the […]
17 Ways to Capture Legacy Stories Now
Capturing stories There are wonderful companies out there who help you record a short interview with a grandparent or elder member of your family. Have one made, you will be glad you did. There are ways to do this yourself. In this age of selfies, and self-produced video, though, there are wonderful, fairly easy, and […]