Memoirs
When I first began to really enjoy writing, my grandpa gave me a printed out version of memoirs from his young life through his time in the Navy during WWII. I didn't appreciate them as much as I should've then, but after his passing I dug into them again. He had always said he wanted me to help him to get them published, but the truth was, there was nothing more then some minor editing to be done. They were written in his words with his flow of words, all it needed was some polishing.
Getting it into an editable state was a challenge. I had a paper copy of his works and an electronic copy on an old pre-internet Mac. There's a technical challenge for you, figure out how to get a file off of a computer like that! Anyway, I had some help getting them scanned in and converted to word. It took some cleaning up of letters that were miss scanned, correcting fonts, and breaking into chapters, and adding some photos. I came up with a title based on what he had written, put in some references, and got it ready for publishing.
While it was a great bit of editorial learning, what I learnt about the most was my grandpa. His young life, what it was like to be in a World War, his early feelings for my grandma, so many things I never would've even thought to ask while he was alive. The gift he gave to his family was the gift of himself, written down for generations to come. There are countless stories of his life that are gone, or will fade as those who knew him pass on, but this one piece will always exist.
The work itself is hardly a best seller, although one month it had a couple of sales (family I assume) and was top 100 Navy Memoirs on Amazon briefly! But it is a lasting tribute and something that can never be lost.
How many stories are left untold from our lives, or even the basic description of life during a time that future generations will forget. I have one image in my mind of the great depression, but to hear my grandparents tell it, it's just what life was. They always said they never knew they were poor as kids because everyone else was too.
It makes me wonder what times I've lived through that my grandchildren will wonder about in history class? The time before 9/11, during, and after. The Great Recession. The dotcom bubble and the unbridled explosion of technology for that time. The dawn of the internet. The 2016 election. All of these have simply been my life, but someday they will be so much more.
Someday I hope to put down some of my stories from these times, when enough time has passed that I have the appropriate perspective to give full credit to the time. So often I hear regret from those left behind after the loss of a loved one, wishing for their written words and stories but then those same people say they couldn't write about their life because nothing interesting has happened. My Grandfather didn't single-handedly stop the war (although he does claim this, jokingly), but his story is no less fascinating. Do not discount the life you live, because someday, someone will wish to know all about it.
Getting it into an editable state was a challenge. I had a paper copy of his works and an electronic copy on an old pre-internet Mac. There's a technical challenge for you, figure out how to get a file off of a computer like that! Anyway, I had some help getting them scanned in and converted to word. It took some cleaning up of letters that were miss scanned, correcting fonts, and breaking into chapters, and adding some photos. I came up with a title based on what he had written, put in some references, and got it ready for publishing.
While it was a great bit of editorial learning, what I learnt about the most was my grandpa. His young life, what it was like to be in a World War, his early feelings for my grandma, so many things I never would've even thought to ask while he was alive. The gift he gave to his family was the gift of himself, written down for generations to come. There are countless stories of his life that are gone, or will fade as those who knew him pass on, but this one piece will always exist.
The work itself is hardly a best seller, although one month it had a couple of sales (family I assume) and was top 100 Navy Memoirs on Amazon briefly! But it is a lasting tribute and something that can never be lost.
How many stories are left untold from our lives, or even the basic description of life during a time that future generations will forget. I have one image in my mind of the great depression, but to hear my grandparents tell it, it's just what life was. They always said they never knew they were poor as kids because everyone else was too.
It makes me wonder what times I've lived through that my grandchildren will wonder about in history class? The time before 9/11, during, and after. The Great Recession. The dotcom bubble and the unbridled explosion of technology for that time. The dawn of the internet. The 2016 election. All of these have simply been my life, but someday they will be so much more.
Someday I hope to put down some of my stories from these times, when enough time has passed that I have the appropriate perspective to give full credit to the time. So often I hear regret from those left behind after the loss of a loved one, wishing for their written words and stories but then those same people say they couldn't write about their life because nothing interesting has happened. My Grandfather didn't single-handedly stop the war (although he does claim this, jokingly), but his story is no less fascinating. Do not discount the life you live, because someday, someone will wish to know all about it.
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