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by localhost
1419 days ago
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Sorry for your loss. So happy that you were able to get some of his story. Are you planning to do something with your recordings? For others who might read this, I started doing this with my Mom and Dad (they're in fine health despite their advanced age). I carry around a fancy recorder and a couple of lav microphones - I wire us up and push record and just start talking. I got a 2-3 hour session the last time I visited, and intend on continuing to do so in future visits. I find that they just forget that they're being recorded this way and speak pretty openly and freely. I found that it's helpful to ask specific questions. My dad was born in Hong Kong and lived through the Japanese occupation and we spent much of our last visit talking about that. I find that it's helpful to ask follow-up questions to pull out additional color and details - "what was the name of this person" or "what do you remember about the market - smells? sounds?". This way it makes the story that much more interesting. I highly recommend [1] as a resource for what interesting stories sound like and how to put them together. It also helps them relive those moments as well. I did that with my Mom and it really helped her relive some of those happier moments in her life. I learned the story of how she was on the last boat to pass through the Suez Canal before the 1956 crisis closed it off [2] and how she was honored at a ceremony honoring the memory of the 50th anniversary of the crisis and Lester Pearson's role in resolving it. [1] https://jessicaabel.com/out-on-the-wire/
[2] https://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/suez-crisis |
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My only plan is to share with family members and ensure records don't get lost.