Tales to be Told (from the "Sunday Afternoon Rocking" series) Afternoon All, For a very long time now, I have written to you...letting my heart speak as I wished to speak to each of you...hoping that sometimes, in some of the messages you found something you too identified with, hoping that something simply said caught an ember in your own heart...because in fact, it was something you too felt deeply, but had never really put words to, and perhaps never really examined consciously. And because I receive so many responses, I know that, in fact, that has happened. I want to speak to you today of doing the same thing. Because you can, although you may not realize you can. And it is very important that you do. I have told you of the young cousin who came to me wishing me to write the memories for her that her mother could not pass on because she had left this world far too young. I told you of walking her through our homeplace, willing her to see through my eyes something gone these thirty years and more. I told you of introducing her to the great grandfather who died before her birth. Since that time, I have written more for her, introducing her to pieces of a heritage she can only learn from one older than she. And I have seen how eagerly she awaits those stories, how deeply she treasures them, and how she keeps them, each and every one to pass on to her children. And it touches me... because I know that our history is something that is more meaningful to her than any great material riches (which the family most definitely did not have) and I know that in some way, it is providing her with a foundation upon which to build her family. Folks, I can write the universal feelings of us all... I can look into the hearts of the thousands I have heard from over these years of searching for roots, and I can identify the commonalities we feel, the motivations, the inclinations, the REASONS. I can know what most of us hold dear and why we do...and I can put into words some of those things that I feel and sense when I speak to you. But I cannot tell your story. I do not know your story. And even if I did know your story, it would not be the same. It is YOUR words that are important and YOUR memories...and it is the descendents of YOUR family that will treasure them....and in some way, hold them as a foundation to build a future upon. Those stories, the good and the bad of them, are lessons that exist in your own chain. There are things to learn from them, and perhaps some of the family will be wise enough to see that, to borrow from that which was learned that was good, and to learn the harsh and bitter lessons of that which was not. Beyond that those stories are a proof in a way...of the fact that there is indeed a meaning behind our very existance, and that we have a link in a long chain that cannot possibly be happenstance....that we ARE where we belong. It is true...not everyone you share them with will appreciate what you have done. Please do it anyway. Others will appreciate...and still others will grow into an appreciation as they mature, as they can look back with the experience of years and see a broader picture. And others will be born that may read your words long after you have left this earth. It is a legacy that takes little more than time and inclination, and it is a legacy that is far more meaningful than anything material. Know this...it is not important that you can speak words that tumble from your pen like musical poetry. It is not important that the spelling, the punctuation, the grammar is correct. Do YOU mind when you finally locate that will, that old letter, that deed, that entry in a family Bible you have been desperately searching for...and the author was less than a proper and precise school marm?? Of course not. You are thrilled that you have found a piece of your past, evidence of your heritage. And so it will be with your stories. If you cannot write them, if your fingers freeze at the thought of picking up a pen or sitting to a keyboard and letting the words flow as if you were speaking....then SPEAK them. Find a place all to yourself if you are shy, look into an empty chair and imagine someone there you would feel free to converse with, someone who would listen to your story and then....tape record it... picture yourself on a sunny frontporch of a homeplace reminiscing.....but tell the stories...and make sure they either are distributed now, or are in the hands of someone you can trust to distribute them later. More meaningful than any "correct" usage of the English language in terms of academics, is the "correct" usage of our language to tell of our heritage. Let the words flow, and let your heart speak...if you simply let your heart speak, and tell what it wants to tell, what it feels deep within hidden chambers, it will do the work for you....because always a heart unfettered will speak of the truth, will speak of the memories in the loving way that only it can, will pass on exactly what you know best, and what you know best must be remembered. And for some descendent of your line, and likely many more than one....they will at some point treasure the legacy you have left them. just a thought, jan (Note: Afternoon Rocking messages are meant to be passed on, meant to be shared...simply share as written without alterations...and in entirety. Thanks, jan) c2000janPhilpot Sunday Afternoon Rocking columns are distributed weekly on the list Sunday Rocking. This is not a "reply to" list, and normally only one message per week will come across it, that being the column. To subscribe send email to [email protected] John 3:16 Future Resident, artist, scribe-in-residence, general troublemaker of the Old Genealogists Home, best kept secret in America Listowner: [email protected] [email protected] Listowner: [email protected]