Florence: The Interview

I've been looking forward to today for a long time. One of my summer goals is to do an oral history of my grandmother and I started to accomplish that goal by interviewing her this afternoon.

In 2003, she had a stroke that has left her less well. In recent months, she has become stronger and resembles the grandma I used to know before her stroke. Since I know she won't be around for much longer and God could take her away at any time, I knew I had to do an oral history. She is a treasure trove of information and I don't want to loose that information. Her life needs to be celebrated many years after she's gone and I hope I can accomplish this. Another reason I want to interview her about her life is so at her funeral, we can show pictures of her and video of her talking about her life. Grandma always said she wanted everyone to laugh at her funeral and I think her telling funny stories will help do that.

Today, I asked her about her childhood, particularly her parents and how she felt about them. I've asked Grandma about them before and she gives me short, un-emotional answers. When I asked her today, she choked up and told me how much she admired them. She started crying when she told me how her father died alone in Arizona and how her mother was bitter in the end because she felt trapped in a rest home.

At one point, she said "I can't do this," and I got worried that our interview would stop there, but she kept going and told me the sad stories of her childhood.

When we finished, I could tell that she enjoyed the experience of remembering her family and her childhood. I think she appreciated that someone is generally interested in what she has to say. I'm coming back next week to talk about another part of her life.

The Interview

Additionally, I edited video tonight and found a segment with me playing in the bathtub with my brother Russell. I thought it was cute enough to put on my blog.

Me an my little brother