A graduate student spent months interviewing my uncle for a project about bridging generations. She became so attached to him that she extended the project and gave countless hours to interviewing him and videotaping his responses. All of this culminated in a loving tribute-- a DVD of Frank's life that was presented at the nursing home yesterday.
We were invited to the event and Mom and Frank just drank in the walk down memory lane as pictures and interviewed clips flashed on the screen. Of course, true to my uncle's personality there were "embellishments" on his life--specifically, his description of his bomber missions during World War II. He was NEVER A PILOT--truth be told, he gets sick on an airplane, and spent all of his time in the service behind a desk in Kansas and Tallahassee, Florida. He even elaborated, and claimed on camera that his tiger eye ring was a gift from the Queen of England for extraordinary service, instead of an anniversary gift from my aunt! I guess he felt the need to change an ordinary life into an extraordinary life. That being said, it was still wonderful to hear him lovingly describe his life ( and my mother's) as they grew up. It was touching to see pictures of him as I remember him from my childhood and to also see my grandparents as young people. Mom was especially touched by seeing these pictures and listening to Frank's answers to Linda's questions about the past. I truly believe that she remembered many of the events as he spoke of them, if only for a brief moment.
We expected to just endure a tiresome showing of this project. However, I couldn't have been more wrong. I will cherish the time that I was able to share this with Mom and Uncle and I look forward to getting a copy of the DVD so I can review it in the future. Well done, Linda--you truly bridged the generations!
Monday, January 14, 2013
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