Published: August 08, 2008 11:47 pm            

DAY: Please, keep notes

People today can benefit from wisdom of older generation

Living back in the days of old, I can relate to the stories that our older generation tell. I blend them in with my own experiences, and therefore a story to be told comes forth to those who will listen and learn from.

I have many readers who are in their 90s, and they let me know that they like what I write about because it opens up the memories of a time so long ago, yet only a wink of the eye.

It is very refreshing to listen to my readers and read the letters sent to me by them. As such, a wealth of facts and memories lie in the brains of these wonderful people we call the older generation.

One of my ladies who writes to me or calls me on the phone is a nice lady who lived the life as it was, and she is a survivor and still has memories of that time in the early part of the last century as she and her husband ran a grocery store and lived one day at a time.

Her name is Thelma, and she is one great lady who does have a little trouble getting around. But she is one tough lady, and she knows how to get by even with her pains.

Before Ramona got to feeling too bad to go out much, we visited with Thelma and that, my friends, is an experience to meet someone who knows what it was like in the years before my birth.

I learned a lot from my grandmothers about how it was and being able to hear the same from someone else. I am glad that they were able to do many things before my time came forth.

Many readers will call me on the phone and tell me that they like what they read and to keep on writing about the old days and the things that are happening in today’s time.

Another one of my readers who operates a small neighborhood grocery told me that she looks forward to reading my column and that many of her customers will talk with her about what I wrote in the past weeks and it makes for a great conversation.

Readers from Texas, Peru, Sharpsville, Tipton and anywhere they can get hold of the Tribune, have sent me e-mails telling me to keep writing because of the way I write and how it reads like a story. And that, my friends, is what I try to do each week.

I try to write as if I would be standing right there with the reader, and see the reaction from said reader. As I write, so do I relate to the things that I have experienced, as well as that of those who lived before me.

That is one reason that I have stated several times that it would be nice if the people who have lived through rough times, would put those facts down on paper like in a diary so that the generations after them can know what it was like in those days.

In today’s world, we find many new cases of Alzheimer’s where the brain drops the ball on memory. I have stated many times that if it ever happened to me, I would want my family to read my columns to me so that maybe something will unlock that key to the brain and bring back those precious thoughts that was me then, now and later.

I feel for those who have loved ones who are down with that disease, because I know it hurts them to see it happening to that loved one.

I know that, in my family, it would be hard for us but that is where the family member steps in and, by doing God’s work and His words, try to make life easier for that loved one. So this is where I ask you to start making notes about your experiences, because someday those words might unlock the door to memories so precious.

As I close today, I thank Thelma, Jenny, and all those who lived back then. They are my inspiration that I relate from.

Ray “Uncle Ray” Day of Kokomo is a weekly contributor to the Kokomo Tribune. You can reach him by e-mail at uncleray@skyenet.net.

        

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