Sunday, November 30, 2008

When to collect stories : Festive Season 3



Gift giving at this time of year is always a challenge. What do we give those who have what they need or want. How can you make yours and their Festive Season even more unique? Is it possible to give a gift so special that it can enhance the holidays for your family? My answer is YES!

Consider giving Familore. It is the quintessential treasure of your family's story. When they began, where you have been and where you all are today. The Holiday Season is fast approaching and without speaking a word members of your family are remembering. It may be the weather, the sights, the sounds, the buzz in the Mall, what ever it is we all have thoughts of earlier Christmases or Festive Seasons.

Your aunt could be remembring her first Christmas as a parent. Little brother is reminded of the first pair of skates he was given. Grandmother still remembers the smell the cookies and pies spread throughout the house. Dad worried over finding the right tree and Mom was making sure the presents were under the tree before the children got up.

Encourage the recounting of your family's stories.
They all have their images, their memories and these pulled together and shared become your Familore.

Begin this year. Start with a few stories, a few remembrances and soon you will discover the treasure that is
Familore. Call a member of your family and begin to collect their stories. You can record these in many ways. Audio, video, even typed up in Word with a seasonal image watermark will help you capture the story. You can later add these to a CD and distribute copies to family members. Every year you can add to it. Old photos, maps, charts, children's drawings and cards can now be collected as never before.

Be the teller,

Sunday, November 23, 2008

When to collect stories: Festive Season 2


Collecting Familore can be an adventure. Every family has its own way of doing things. The way they share their memories, the times at which they tell these memories. Styles may vary but the sharing most often takes place in a time of celebration, a time when members of the family, friends come together.

If you were to select a time for collecting, the Festive Season would be a wonderful choice. It has a unifying thread running through it. Family members and friends make a special effort to be together. Time itself becomes more fluid and we give ourselves permission to relish in each others company.

Remembrances, memories, shared experiences become the reason for being together. The cost is minimal and it may enhance your holidays in ways you cannot imagine.


Whether you invite family and friends to your place or you go to theirs, you can be the collector. There is a magical atmosphere attached to the holiday season.
We feel a connection to our past that often is forgotten the rest of the year. The coming ofthe New Year looms heavy on our conciousness. Hopes, dreams, fears and joys remain closer to the surface. Make space in your activities to encourage the telling. Remember to value the stories shared, they are pieces of the puzzle that is your Familore.

Be the teller,


Sunday, November 16, 2008

A time for collecting stories : Festive Season



You know who you are! The one in a family gathering that asks all the questions. The person most likely to wonder when our family first cut a tree for the holidays. There is one in every family. Is is curiosity, concern or just being inquisitive, inquiring minds want to know. But remember this is, it is all up to you.

Familylore is like that. We all have it, we all use it and no one tells about it. That is where the family teller comes in. The Festive Season is one of the most popular times of the year to record such stories. Are they interviews? Will they bring up bad memories? You never know, you can only be sure that you are asking in order to preserve, encourage and share your Familylore.

The next time you are in the kitchen helping to stuff a bird, bake a pie or sugar cookies pull out your recorder, and ask open questions to your mom, grandmother, grandfather, sister, brother, nephew,niece or other.

  • Mom Dad : What did you do on your first Christmas together?
  • Sis: How did you decide to become _____________?
  • Neighbour: Remember Grandad, and his gardening, what was his favorite flower?

These and other open ended questions will help get the story started.

Be the teller,


Sunday, November 9, 2008

Stories told through poem : In Flanders Fields




Stories will never run out. Those who have experienced war in any way realise that the experience stays with them. It is in the way that we remember that makes it human. The loss lives with us all. As long as we Remember.


The Last Post
sets the tone for Remembrance Day, November 11th. This instrumental tells stories through sound. Notes and cadence breaths life into the story.

Other forms of storytelling are found in poems.


In Flanders Fields, by John McCrae,MD (1915)


In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.


There are not just words they are images of stories told and shared between colleagues, commarades, wives, daughters, fathers, sons and mothers. Encapsulated in the flower that embues the feeling of loss, its red colour rises to set a pulse for the ryhtym of these stories.

Lest We Forget encompases a multitude of generations, of yesterdays and tomorrows.
The following stories are shared in images and words to help us meet this responsibility,



Remember,



Sunday, November 2, 2008

A time for collecting stories : Remembrance Day



November 11th, a day to remember. Freedom was the call. Men, women and children took part in one way or another in the great battles that make up WWI, WWII and the Korean War. Together they forged an alliance, "For freedom, For love of country, the reasons were different depending on your situation, background, heritage.... How to make their sacrifice meaningful today, that's the question asked by many educators, parents and families who believe in the saying "Never Again".

Veterans Affairs Canada has developed an unique approach to sharing the stories of these brave men and women, families all. A non-sports card collection has been created to include 112 stories on 112 cards depicting a special moment in the history of these world wars. Each one telling a story from the perspective of those who were there, who witnessed the event and told of the experience. Stories shared of intimate moments such as these continue to declare the courage and valiant nature of the human spirit.

Visit Lest We Forget and share their stories, they belong to us all,