Taking Time To Take A Picture, Record A Voice posted 8/2/2009 5:38:10 PM | 7 kudos what's this?     report abuse

ttomtarr

Many years ago, Captain Jim and his wife paid me a visit, to enjoy a bit of grog, and swap a few sea stories. I asked him to explain how they preserved meat and fish at a time sailing schooners had no refrigeration. Because of my memory is poor, ( the rum), I turned on a cassette recorder.

He covered food preservation, and drifted on to Cayman turtlers, Miami River tug boats, and Salvaging. I flipped the cassette at 45 minute, and he sailed on to shark fishing for oil and described the old time Bahamian wooden boat builders, replete with salty language, nautical terminology, plenty of laughter, and several "pass the rum's. The cassette later got put away and forgotten.

A few months later, Jim suffered a basal stroke, and forever lost his ability to speak or move half of his body. I visited him when I was able, until he and Betty passed away several years later. I continued to exchange Christmas cards with his daughter, her in thanks for my visiting him when most friends forgot him, and me trying to keep a link to my old friends' family..

Some years after that, going through some old music recordings, I discovered Jim's old cassette, and sent his daughter a copy of it with the card as a little gift. She wrote back expressing unexpected delight. Grandchildren who had just seen Jim as a silent old man in a wheelchair now heard him at his best, a salty Captain. His several children heard a beloved voice they had given up on ever hearing again, talking at his liveliest. I myself can conjure up a very special night with two wonderful people at the push of a button, and I still have the knowledge of how to salt fish and dry goat meat.

People should photograph and record loved ones. Life can change in an instant, and what we take for granted can be gone forever, lost without warning. Old people won't be among us forever, and sweet childrens' voices change all too fast.

As a favor to yourself, and loved ones, record those voices and faces now.

Note: This started as a comment to CHARLIgurl1's blog, but in order not to hijack her blog, I posted it as its own blog. Thanks to CHARLI !

And thanks to You for reading my thoughts.

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