There is extraordinary in every ordinary.
Having just finished off Record My Past’s most recent project, I am once again struck by my storyteller’s humble and self-effacing reflections. Whilst he would have called his life an ordinary one, the family members who will be the recipients of his life story book will see in its pages why I’ve subtitled it ‘A Lucky Bloke’.
Having had a very simple and isolated upbringing on the outskirts of a tiny NSW town that barely makes it onto a map, Mr M made the most of every opportunity presented to him to ultimately become a much-admired school principal on the Central Coast. With every new development in his life, this teacher had the same bewildered response: ‘But why pick me? Pure luck – I’m a lucky man’. But to me, listening to this gentle man’s emotional recollections about his background and experiences, this was no roll of the dice – Mr M’s broadmindedness and respectful approach to life brought opportunity to him in spades.
At Record My Past we document all sorts of life stories, from those purporting to be about ‘Just a housewife’ or ‘A failure at school’ to grand tales of privilege and the heady heights of sporting success. But no matter where they begin or how they end, none of the stories we record could ever be called ordinary – particularly not by the family members who inherit a better understanding of where they’ve come from and what shapes their outlook on life.
Sometimes there are revelations of shameful conduct, ignorance, regret and long-buried secrets. There are also exaggerations, fudging of dates, select ‘omissions’, and a few ‘tall tales’ where the anecdote changes just a little with each telling. But what’s important is that it’s their story; it speaks volumes about what their eyes saw and what they remember of the event or person. If your father recalls watching on as a three-year-old when his grandfather ‘set fire to his long white beard when he was lighting his pipe’, then you know two things about your great-grandfather that are quite possibly true – that he smoked a pipe and had a long white beard. Whether he set fire to his beard tells you more about your father’s memories and perceptions than whether the incident did or didn’t happen. Both things are worth knowing and worth recording.
Don’t put off having your family member’s story written down. It’s not ordinary. It’s wonderful. You won’t regret it once it’s done! Contact us at Record My Past and we’ll talk you through the process.