AUGUST ORGANIZATION CHECKLIST - WHAT YOU DID FOR SUMMER VACATION Remember how in the olden days, our elementary school teachers asked us to write papers by that last title? Yes, those ol' school days... I used to walk through seven foot drifts of snow uphill (both ways) to get to a school room with a pot belly stove in the back! As a bridge between the laxy days of summer, and knuckling down to reading, writing and arithmetic, they'd have us do the usual summer vacation essays. Well, among the items on this months checklist are a few new fangled twists on that theme! 1. While traveling about, take your video cameras and tape recorders with you! Record what things look like! Tell how you feel about visiting that old homestead, or the cemetery hidden in the backwoods. 2. When visiting relatives who have possession of the precious family bible, ask if you can take it to the local photocopy shop. Invite them with you for lumch, if necessary. Just get COPIES of the original, don't trust yourself to transcribe the information perfectly. Remember there are 24 hour places like Kinkos to help you out! 3. As grandchildren visit, be sure to do a yearly interview with them on tape! As you splice together 10-15 years of video clips they'll be amazed at their changes and growth. And what a record for posterity! THEIR children will be able to see their parents as babies, and the the wonderful interaction with you, the great-grandparents! That is a window to the past I would certainly cherish! 4. As an extension of this activity, those of you with grandchildren could begin "grandchildren books." This consists of a personalized three-ring binder. Then, every week, compose an interesting letter on your computer and send copies to all grandchildren through the mail. They'll love getting something special addressed to them. You'll be able to share anecdotes from your childhood, old family stories, the lives of their parents, or little quote or stories you run across in the course of the week. Following these guidelines, you'll be able to accomplish your goals to finalluy make progress on the PERSONAL HISTORY side of family history research. Think how thrilled we are when we run across an original document which our ancestor held! Well, you are literally making memories and documenting lives in the process!