Your Grandparents Know More Than the Internet…

Posted by Rick
July 14, 2008

 

“Information could only be a branch away on your family tree.”

A good friend and collaborator on The Black Toad Tavern, Robert Griffin,  told me this recently and he’s right.  He went on to say…

“Don’t underestimate that lovely old couple you call Grammy and Grandpa. We all know that their houses have that “old people smell” and they liked to pinch your cheek when you were younger and they are glued to the TV sets when Lawrence Welk but they know stuff. My grandmother who lived to the age of 94 and passed away a few years ago could tell stories about the Great Depression and the hardships her family endured that could have filled a book. Your grandparents may have tales about World War II, the 1950’s or the Hippie movement of the 1960’s. Spend a day with your grandparents, they will enjoy the time with you and you could find just the right story as well.”

What Bob said couldn’t be more true.  A lot of times we turn to the internet or one of those old fashioned things called “libraries” when researching historical data for a book or story. I know I do. Nothing beats a first hand account.  It can add just the right spark of realism and truth to your words. You’ll also uncover something that a historical account in print form can never tell you - what the person felt.  Let me give you an example.

Example 1:

Norman sat back and closed his eyes.  The radio’s tales filled the small room.  It was his means of escape.  He smiled and folded himself into the couch cushions, putting himself into the story being told.

Example 2:

Norman sat back and closed his eyes as the narrator asked the world “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men…”.  The voice crackled through the speakers of his small Philco and transported him away from his comfortable couch and to another place.  He was walking beside Lamont Cranston now and nothing could stop him.

Which do you prefer?

Now, a good storyteller can do the research and inject their own feelings into the scene but wouldn’t it be so much nicer to hear it from the lips of a loved one who had been there?

 

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Comments
Comment by Laurie on July 14, 2008 @ 10:55 pm

You are so right. It reminds me of the phrase:You had to be there.
Can you imagine hearing what it was like to be in New York on 911 by someone who was actually there? I can’t believe that researching something like that without a primary source would even compare. There was a guy that I use to know that was a soldier in Vietnam. He was one of the soldiers that fought on Hamburger Hill. He couldn’t even talk about that. But if he could….could you even imagine what that might be like?

Comment by Rick on July 15, 2008 @ 9:02 am

It’s a shame the stories we lose when someone passes or is unable to talk about it. There are so many questions I would ask family members who are no longer with us if I had the chance.

Comment by Gillian Swart on July 19, 2008 @ 11:38 am

Could not agree with you more. In the last couple of weeks I’ve spoken to a 94-year-old who has lived in Newburyport all his life and who told me more than any newspaper archive could have, and an 83-year-old ex-Army Ranger who was at D-Day. The latter REALLY told me more than any history book or newspaper archive could have (and in a more interesting way, I might add) - the service of the Rangers in WWII has largely been ignored.

Gillian

Comment by Rick on July 19, 2008 @ 2:42 pm

I love Newburyport, Gillian. Agave is a favorite restaurant of mine. Isn’t it humbling to sit down and talk to someone who was at an historic event such as D-Day. That’s a true hero right there.

Rick

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