Who has the Memories?

           Talking to an older cousin today, she said she had been thinking of my mom over the weekend, remembering her as a kid singing "It's a grand old flag..."    Memories like that intrigue me.  "How old was my mom?  Where was she when she sung it?  Tell me more," I had asked my cousin.

          Things like this may mean nothing to others, but my mom died when I was young, barely a teenager.  My dad had died before that.  Being a kid, I barely knew either of them, not like you come to "know" your parents after you've made it to young adulthood.

          I find myself wanting all the details of whatever is remembered.  Nothing is too small or insignificant.   Most of what I now know of my parents has come from others' memories of them.  I especially like to hear about them as kids and before they had kids.  Both parents were ill during my entire childhood, so hearing about them in younger times gives me a better perspective of "who" they really were, before illness, before pain, before hardships.

          Ever take a mental trip back to the street where you grew up?  Can you name the streets nearby?  What stores were in your neighborhood?  Who were your neighbors?  What were the names of your parents' friends?  All these have been difficult for me to answer, because I was too young.  I can see our street though, and the house my parents built where I grew up.

           I wish I had asked more questions of my grandmothers about their kids (my parents).   There are few people left now who had known my parents (as kids or young adults).  Most of the people I have contacted before were very gracious and answered any question I had.  There was the guy my dad worked with at the post office; Vince remembered daddy very well.  Several women answered questions about my mom from her school days.  And luckily, their employment records still existed and I got copies of those.  Every piece of information, every story, filled in gaps of what I had known about Mom & Dad. 

          Did your brother or sister pass away, leaving nieces and nephews you can help?  Were you closest to a grandparent or other relative, so that you know their lives & stories very well?  Consider writing or telling what you remember about important persons of your family.    Who do you know now who needs to hear your stories?    You'll never know how much good your stories will do, and how good it will be, for another person.