October 30, 2004
"Your past is your story up to now. The future is the story yet to come. The present is where you live with that experience, your hopes and your dreams."
Your Life is Your Story Newsletter
October 30, 2004 Issue-014 – A Fall Classic
From Tom Gilbert – Editor and Writer, www.your-life-your-story.com
Opening Remarks: A Fall Classic
I've been a lifelong baseball fan. I even dreamed - I mean really dreamed - of playing major league ball. I was in organized baseball through high school and by the time I graduated I knew I wasn't gifted enough. But, I have fond memories of playing, including stickball in the streets when I was fifteen and several years of serious fun in softball leagues.I continue to love the game and the Boston Red Sox have been my favorite team since 1967. I'm a lefty and my idol was Carl Yastremski. I had the Yaz batting stance down pat.
Red Sox fans know what it means to almost grab the brass ring and then see it slip from their grasp. Over and over and over again my heart has been broken. I think Boston may have lost more seven game championship series than anyone. The last four times they made it to the World Series they lost each time in seven games. You can't say they don't make it exciting. So it is particularly gratifying that the Bosox came back against insurmountable odds to beat the Yankees and advance to the Fall Classic. After that you might even expect a bit of a letdown. However, the Sox rolled right on through and beat the St. Louis Cardinals in four straight to win the World Series.
Yes, yes...I've been basking in the glow of the Red Sox victory. 86 years is a long time to wait to be World Champions again. The "curse of the Bambino" is broken (Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees in 1919, one year after the last Red Sox series win...and you know what happened after that).
The season highlights will be forever preserved thanks to television. Your own personal family history highlights can also be recorded. In this issue there is a guest article by Steve Pender of Family Legacy Video™ . He’s a pro at video work and he can passes on great tips and help with his terrific Producer’s Guide.
Visit the Your Life is Your Story blog for more on life story living.
Thank you to all who are subscribed and/or reading the Your Life is Your Story newsletter. The number of people subscribed has steadily grown and it’s gratifying to know that the message of telling your story grows with it. It is a special thing to share with you life story writing and personal history tips, resources and thoughts. If you like what you read here, pass it along to a friend. If a friend DID forward this to you and if you like what you read, please subscribe by visiting our signup page . Also, let me know what you’d like to see more of in this newsletter – simply reply to this email e-zine.
Thanks for reading. – Tom
In this Issue:
Opening remarks: A Fall Classic
Featured Article: Why Produce a Family History Video?
Resources You Can Use: A Family Newsletter, Memories are Forever, Family Legacy Video™
Feature Article: Why Produce a Family History Video?
Guest Article: Why Produce a Family History Video?Consider the power of the shared experience. by Steve Pender
You'll reap many benefits when you capture your family storytellers on video. Some of these benefits are profound while others are just plain fun. This article takes a look at perhaps the most profound way a family history video benefits you and your family. This benefit is called the shared experience.
John Glenn's ticker tape parade down Broadway. Woodstock. Reggie Jackson's three back-to-back homeruns in the 1977 World Series. The wedding of Lady Diana and Prince Charles. If you were in the crowd witnessing or taking part in one of these events, you shared an unforgettable experience with many others.
And years later, when idle chatter reveals that both you and the stranger in the airline seat next to you were part of the same event, you'll discover you share a bond you never knew existed. Perhaps you'll strike up a friendship; at the very least you'll part with some sense of kinship.
This same principle applies when you capture one of your relatives on video, relating a favorite family story or a piece of family history. But the effect can be much more profound.
Think about it. Perhaps one of things you most enjoy about family get-togethers is hearing Uncle Harry tell family stories. It's not just the content of the story that brings you pleasure, it's also hearing and watching Uncle Harry tell it: the rise and fall of his voice, the sparkle in his eyes, the way his hands dance through the air.
Capture Uncle Harry telling these stories on video, and you create a living, breathing record that can be enjoyed for years to come. Your grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great grandchildren will be able to experience Uncle Harry just like you did. They'll be getting their family history straight from the "horse's mouth," instead of fourth, fifth or sixth hand (or not at all). Perhaps they'll see some of themselves in his mannerisms. You'll have created a powerful link to future generations, who in turn will feel a sense of connection and continuity with their family's past - and with you.
This is powerful and profound stuff, and all it takes is a video camera and YOU to make it happen.
Steve Pender is the author of the Family Legacy Video™ Producer’s Guide and president of Family Legacy Video, Inc., a company dedicated to helping families capture their precious family stories on video. Visit Family Legacy Video or
Copyright 2004, Family Legacy Video, Inc.
As we approach the holiday season and the end of the year it is a good time to reflect on the past twelve months. Why not share the memories and events of 2004 with your family with a Family Newsletter?
I can write this newsletter for you. I'll write a fun, entertaining and concise family newsletter suitable for printing or sending by email. You provide the events and information you want included and I'll flesh out the details in a highly readable report of your family's experiences. This is a great way to share some recent family history and it’s very affordable.
More information – go here.
Memories are Forever
Memories are Forever is a special website that provides a place to share the memories of loved ones who have passed on. The site provides lots of ideas and assistance for preserving your memories of loved ones. The site is rich in content and community driven with a forum where you can ask questions and learn from others. There are also links to a variety of grief support sites and organizations. There's a lot of sensitivity to the emotions and issues people go through when dealing with the death of a loved one. You can even submit a tribute to someone who has died. There's no cost to use the site's resources.
See more about Memories are Forever at our Highlight Site.
Family Legacy Video™
This is a great site full of tips and helpful products to produce your own video biographies. Steve Pender has done commercial video work for many years and also creates family legacy videos. Be sure to check out his Producer's Guide.
That’s it for this month’s issue. Thanks for reading and here’s to telling your story. Do give it some serious consideration because I just know you’ve got a great story to tell! Be sure to see the Get Started section.
Any comments, ideas or feedback is greatly appreciated. Just reply to this ‘zine and tell me what you think!
Until next time, – keep your story alive!
Tom Gilbert
Resources You Can Use
Your Family Newsletter