Joining a small group of people seated around a living room, you hear two individuals sharing stories about their relatives. Which would you find of greater interest?
- The man seated on your left who unfolds a large picture of his famiily tree and proudly declares that he just discovered that he is a direct descendant of Christopher Jones, Captain of the Mayflower or
- the three stories told by the elderly woman seated across from you who has in her possession a diary written by a distant relative, a mere passenger on the same ship. The first entry explains how her grandfather, seven times removed, bribed the ship?s first mate to gain passage. The second recounts how he and the crew saved a young sailor who had fallen overboard the second day out. The last relates how he came to lay claim to be the first European to smoke tobacco.
The answer to the introductory question was obvious to R Harrison Scott, a retiree living in Southern California, who, forced to deal with his own mortality, set out to share his life?s experiences much like the aforementioned woman?s distant relative had done.
The difference is that instead of writing them down in a diary he created an anecdotal blog, one that once completed could be easily converted into a hardcover book.
His motivation?
“Just think about it,” he says.
“If your great grandparents, grandparents, and parents had had the means to share their stories putting them in some sort of written or recorded form like we do today using free blogging resources on the internet, you would not only have been given the opportunity to benefit from the wealth of their life?s experiences but would have undoubtedly gained a deeper appreciation for your ancestors as well.
Of course, nothing can be done about the fact that their stories have for the most part been forgotten but you can make sure that the ones you have to tell don?t fade away with the passage of time.”
To get an idea what such a project entails, visit Ron’s blog – PardonMyRedundancy.wordpress.com. Click on a title or two in the right hand column under Recollections Et Al and perhaps you will be inspired to begin the process of immortalizing your own memories so they (and you) are not forgotten.
Like the idea but don?t have time to devote to such a project? Can?t type? Technologically challenged? Scott, a professional editor and writer, offers a variety of support services.
1. If you have stories to tell but don’t have the time to write them, all you have to do is share them with him and he will not only transcribe them but post them on a free, dedicated blog much like his own. He will even publish the pictures you have to go along with them.
2. If you enjoy writing but would like a professional to edit your work, he will be more than happy to assist you with that as well.
3. If you just need help getting the blog started, in an hour long, online Skype presentation he will not only help you set one up but explain how to manage it.
4. Lastly, once your stories have been recorded, he’ll show you how to easily convert your blog into a hard or soft covered book.
When speaking before senior citizen groups, Scott often quotes Joseph Addison who is best known for coining the phrase “He who hesitates is lost.”
“When you add the word ‘forever’ to the end of Addison’s warning you begin to really grasp how precious, unpredictable and limited one’s time on this Earth really is,” he says.
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