Lost Memories

For all that I love "gadgets" and electronic toys (I am writing this on my ipad) I do wonder if we are losing something tangible along with the paper. I began writing this blog to put down some of my memories for my children and grandchildren, but they are too busy to read it. Sometime in the future they will want to know some of these stories, but will they be able to locate them at that time? The wonder of lovely hand-written letters is that they can be tucked back in a drawer to be unearthed years later. Then they afford a lovely visit to people and times gone by.

 I have several letters that my father wrote to my mother while he was traveling as a shoe salesman across the area. They offer a rare glimpse of my parents as young lovers. He writes of simple things..the people he has met, the places he has seen and his love for her. His humor is revealed in one letter addressed to "Neal Smith's Brat, Stanford, KY." The letter arrived at the little post office. When my mother went to pick up the mail she was informed that she had a letter, but she would have to identify herself before they could let her have it. Knowing my father and his sense of humor, she tried everything she could think of, but the postman wouldn't give it to her. Finally in exasperation, she gave in, "Yes, I'm Neal Smith's Brat". She got her letter.

My grandfather wasn't a great letter writer but he kept meticulous records of everything. These records offer a tantalizing view of life on the farm in the early part of the century. The list included not only purchases but comments on their use and need. "A pound of ten penny nails to replace roof on chicken coop blown off by storm." "Fee to blacksmith to replace rim on wagon wheel" "Payment for use of steam combine to gather wheat crop" "wages for shearers to shear sheep" "sale of two work mules to Walker farm" "sale of 20 bales of straw to school district for teacher's horse stall"

A friend reports that her granddaughter receives letters from her paternal great-grandmother. These letters have to be answered before another is written. The grandmother uses the letters to write little stories of her life and children, thus creating memories for her young great-grandchild. The child writes of her school and friends, thus giving the grandmother a chance to know more of her grandchild's life. What a wonderful gift they are giving each other.

Now our communications tend to be e-mails, text messages, or phone calls. Where are the tender treasures that we can pass on to our children? Will they ever see the information so blithely assigned to electronic void? What if the technology changes (as it will), then will we be able to see the letters, notes, pictures, and memories? Will they just be lost?

There is something to be said for the big box of pictures taking up space in my upstairs closet. At least someday I know my grandkids will be able to enjoy seeing their dad dressed as batman with a mask and a blue bath towel for a cape. They can giggle at the picture of their mom in the perm she just had to have about the fifth grade that left her looking a lot like a squirrel peeking out of a bush. They can see their grandparents as they grow with age, from slender young parents to rounded grandparents.

Have we discovered technology but lost the memories of a generation?