Comment by Gerry Regan on May 7, 2014 at 2:17pm

So true, Dee. I've been keeping a written, mostly daily diary since January 1974, begun when I was a student at Trinity College Dublin. I've chronicled highlights -- and lowlights -- in my 61 years, using millions of words. I recorded my Grandma Sue's reflections on the history of her family and that of my grandfather in a 60-minute recorded interview in July 1977, when she was 79 or 80. This has provided quite a few breakthroughs for me, and I suspect will lead me to even more when I focus on more of her words. She died two years later. I have about nine hours of audio interviews completed with my father, some of which were poignant, some contentious, a few completed in the last decade of his life, most in his last three years. Those efforts, and these were efforts, are now priceless. I remember how anxious I was about getting him and my mom, when she was alive, to turn off the soap operas and have a genuine conversation. 

Comment by Dee Notaro on May 7, 2014 at 2:19pm

I do not understand why in this era of electronics people do not think to do this. Letters have gone by the wayside, cards, emails, sometimes one can long to hear a mother or father's voice no matter our age,

Comment by Jean Sullivan Cardinal on May 9, 2014 at 10:47am

Thanks for the tip.  I'm so wrapped up in finding out about my ancestors I never thought of the next generation wanting to know about me.

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