The family Historian

Let me tell you what kind of historian I am.

 

    The collection, organization, and maintenance of facts do not concern me. It does not matter to me that someone was born or died in a particular year, for example, only that they lived and died. My interest is more in terms that someone was around 10 or 11, or somewhere around there, for example, when such and such happened, and, more importantly, the impact that the event had on the development of that person’s life. I am interested in the stories, the perspective of the story-teller, and the impressions conjured up by the stories.

     Facts are important, they really are, and I do not mean to diminish their value at all. The facts set the framework for the story, so I am very fortunate to belong to a family that has other members who are willing to take responsibility to dig up the facts and maintain the records for an accurate timeline of events.

 

As for me, I am simply not designed to attend to such details. No, I am the story-teller.

 

    While I recognize the tremendous value of the facts, I also contend that ultimately, they are not very relevant. Don’t get me wrong, I do not mean that they don’t matter; I only argue that two or more people can be in the exact same place at the exact same time and experience the exact same circumstances, and yet, very different stories emerge. This is because no one ever interprets anything like anyone else. And it is our interpretations of our life experiences that shape our lives.

     You should also note that even though I try to stay true to the stories as told to me by other story-tellers, the mere fact I am retelling them makes the stores affected by my perspective as well.

     For example, my sisters and I may tell something about our father – something that happened when we were all there at the same time. And when we do, I am almost always accused of exaggerating. But I disagree! You see, I tell my version exactly as I experienced it. My experience is inevitably different from theirs, however. Maybe my experience is different because I was the youngest (you see, the fact of our birth order comes into play here and is, in fact, significant). Or maybe my experience is different because my natural design contains more sensitivity to certain nuances (such as tone of voice and facial expressions) while their design is more sensitive to other nuances (such as the state of surrounding circumstances).

 

Whatever the reason, I want to assure you that I tell the absolute truth as I see it!

 

    As a family historian, I seem to have an internal magnet sensor that vibrates at a high frequency near any story that demonstrates something about a person’s character. I look for characteristics that help me understand who I am and why I am the way I am. I look for stories that help me understand how my ancestors managed certain hardships (you see, the facts play an important role here, as well). I look for stories that explain human nature in general, and the particular characteristics of my bloodline in particular.

     The kind of historian I am is one who sees the intangible, absorbs it into my being, and passes it on to others as word pictures, heirlooms, and gifts of the heart. Take it for whatever it is worth to you (and I will argue that it is worth far more than you can know at this moment for that is the gift of history and human interaction: these things affect you forever, on into your unseen future).

Comments

[dancing kitchen]

Right on River!!