Last summer, Aunt Anna told me she had a suggestion she wanted me to consider. But left it at that, leaving me to wonder. Later giving me a hint. And finally just before Christmas, I received a package of old financial records and several personal journals that had belonged to her parents and my paternal grandparents, Floyd and Clarice Morehouse. The package contained a wonderful letter from Aunt Anna challenging me to write a poem, an essay, a biography, or even an autobiography of a young boy’s memories of growing up next door to his Grandpa and Grandma Morehouse.
Wow! What a challenge. Consider the history, the stories, the relational values, the family economics, and the resulting impacts that all of these had on me. Or on any one of their descendants for that matter. I had an opportunity to review the material while I was on vacation several weeks ago and the time to give the project some consideration. It seemed overwhelming. Maybe if I was retired….but I have a “few” years to go before that happens. Aunt Anna urged, “Don’t put it too far back on the burner. You’ll need to do a lot of thinking (the kind that involves memory and maybe some research). So…start! Collect material. Plan the work and work the plan!”
Well, I have decided to accept your challenge, Aunt Anna. Although I may regret doing so in such a public forum if later I find the task too large and the time available too short.
As for a plan? Well, I guess it would be easy to put a few facts together and assemble them with some pictures, throw in some memories and call it good. But it wouldn’t be good enough. Nor comprehensive enough. The impact that Floyd and Clarice Morehouse had on each of their children, their 15 grandchildren, and other descendants and friends was too significant and unique for me to try to capture by myself. Therein lies “the plan”.
The plan, as time allows, is to begin sharing the information I have with you. And I hope that if you have some thoughts, memories, details, stories, or even historical fiction, you will share them with all of us as well. The internet is a wonderful tool that will enable us to collaborate. So as I provide you information that triggers your memory, I hope that you will share them with me so I might someday assemble a tribute.
Or maybe, the means will become the end unto itself?
Stay tuned!
2 comments:
I love this picture! You write very eloquently, this would be a great book! I'm sure you would find many of us who would like to tell you our memories!
I hope you had a great 53rd Happy Birthday today!!!!!
It is my hope and dream that all of us take some time to write down some stories. I would love to see a forum of questions and answers. And I know we are all busy. But a collective brief and occasional look at our past will be fun, help to connect us all, and serve to brighten our future.
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