Memory Man

Long day at work. Ran out of time and natural light.

Not sure if this qualifies as a legitimate daily blip but had fun setting up and getting the lighting right.

My father turned 90 in September. And still going strong!

He has always loved telling stories. True life experience stories. Always embellished to give extra colour which often results in a slightly different version on each telling, much to the amusement of those family members who have been the recipients over many years. However they are steeped in truth and family history.

With this verbal history together from the vantage point brought on by the responsibilities of marriage, extended family, community and employment I came to realize what an amazing life my father had lived and still is living in all these facets.

The same can be said for many of my father’s generation and each has their own story. So my father is not unique. What is unique is he most generously and kindly took up the challenge of my patient pestering for 20 years to put his stories on paper. In his mid 80’s he handed me his final hand written transcript. They are now in print as blipped above.

Long ago I kept a clipping about memory from a newspaper…..

It stated…

Memory is never complete, static or accurate;
Rather it is a dynamic medium
Shaped by expectations, need, beliefs
And “imbued with emotion”
Enriched, they say,
By the inherently human capacity for narrative creation.
Our significant memories inevitably become stories.

So in conclusion…

All the amazing blips I browse with their lovely descriptive journals
are providing an infinite source of shared memories of both
narrative and image creation. Enriching us all.