Just an Idea I Had

Later tonight I'll likely post a normal article, but first I wanted to tell y'all about an idea I had today. If you're interested, I would absolutely love your help, because this is a project too big for any one person.


You see, I love old people. Back in May I got the chance to hang out with my great aunt Dot. She's my grandfather's oldest sister, and is twenty years older than him, almost ninety. I originally talked to her in an attempt to hint at the fact that I would really love to inherit the awesome brooch she was wearing. I know that sounds awful, but it's true. And if you haven't yet told all your older relatives how much you like their stuff, you should get on that as soon as possible. They usually remember.


But I digress. The more I talked to Aunt Dot, the cooler she turned out to be. She was from Aliceville, Alabama, and when she was a teenager she became the lead singer of a band called The Starlighters. She sang in the Officer's Club at the Aliceville POW camp. When she graduated from high school, she joined the WAVES (Women's Navy Corps) and worked in intelligence during the war. Her younger sister Ruby took her place in The Starlighters and met her husband there. Dot went to college under the GI Bill, and while she was there, her English professor introduced her to a friend of her husband. They got married and lived happily ever after.


Anyway, that started me thinking, what kinds of stories do other old people have to tell? It's been on my mind all day because I took Hannah and Joshua to City Cafe today and we stopped in the Northport Five & Dime and Skyland Antique Mall. Those three places are havens for the elderly. 


Finally, here's my point, I want to undertake an oral history project, and I'd really like y'all to help me. Pick an older person. It can be a relative, friend, someone from your church, a neighbor, anybody. Talk to them. You can be all fancy and record it, or you can just scribble notes. You can talk about whatever you want, but I'll post a list of suggested questions if you want some ideas. Then post it here. I love hearing stories about what everyday life was like in the past. And besides, by doing this, we're preserving stories and information and wisdom that would otherwise be lost forever when a generation has all passed away.


Let me know if you are interested, because I can't wait to go talk to some old people!


Always, 
Callie