Friday, May 20, 2005

It's all about the stories

With each passing day I'm more and more convinced that the practice of preserving family stories is gradually catching fire. What stories do you want to preserve and pass along?

It never fails - after each and every speaking engagement or workshop session, audience members approach me with stories about their families. I enjoy hearing the stories of course, but most of all what I really love is watching the people telling them. They're always excited and proud and actually glowing as they relate the family tales that mean so much to them.

I do think there's a growing awareness of the importance of capturing family stories in some form to pass along to coming generations. And yet a lot of people, the same people who so value their family stories, never do preserve them. Maybe they're inhibited by technology or the time and effort they think it would take or the perceived expense.

What about you? Are there family storytellers and stories you want to save? What are they? What's keeping you from starting your family history video project? I invite you to leave some comments. Perhaps I and other visitors to the Family Legacy Video Cafe can offer the advice and encouragement you need to get started.

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