HomeHomeAlso, read this month's WITNE EXTRA:
The Problems of Poverty and Hunger
June 2005
Legacy
"Money or property bequeathed to another by will. Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past: a legacy of religious freedom."
Dictionary.com’s definition of the word ‘Legacy.’
TALES FROM MY OLD SOUTH DAKOTA HOME
When I was a small child, I would often beg my grandmother to tell me stories about life when she was a little girl. Who was she as a person? Who were her parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, and uncles? What were they like? What did they do for fun? How did they live? I was always curious.
For some reason, I had no real sense of time and perspective, and envisioned her life out on the South Dakota prairies in the early 1900’s in a primitive log cabin similar to the one that Abraham Lincoln lived in a hundred years earlier! Perhaps my earlier confusion can be traced to the influence of the popular "Little House on the Prairie" books. Nevertheless, when she showed me her family photograph albums, I was surprised to discover that she had lived in a farmhouse, albeit with an outhouse.
In addition, my grandmother had a story for every member of our family. These tales of family adventures gave me a sense of who we were, how we lived--before and after I came along--what we valued, what we found amusing, and what situations we had survived as a group. Those stories about my grandfather, mom, aunts, uncle, brothers, and cousins were as much a part of her legacy, as were her numerous photo albums.
She was also able to tell me what was happening on the day I was born, what the weather was like, what the drive to the hospital was like, how she felt when she heard I had arrived. Apparently, on the way, my mother joked that my grandfather had better hurry up and get to the hospital, located in a small town five miles away. My grandfather kept a tidy auto, and wouldn’t appreciate it if I arrived early and landed in his car! She had other funny stories about my babyhood and early childhood.
Thanks to my grandmother, I had an unshakable sense of belonging to all those characters called my family, and of belonging to my ancestors and my old home state, South Dakota. And, thanks to her interest in photography, we have a record of what life looked like in her little village nearly 100 years ago. Although she has been gone for over 20 years, I will always cherish this intangible legacy.
WHAT IS YOUR STORY AND HOW WILL YOU TELL IT?
Who were you when you were a baby? What were you like as young child? What were your dreams as a young adult? Who told you stories about your early life, and what stories do you tell your loved ones about your life now? What is the meaning of your life? What do you value most? What were your happiest times and your saddest? And, how did you survive the worst times of your life? Who has inspired you? And what parts of your story would inspire other people?
WRITING DOWN YOUR STORY: ETHICAL WILLS
In the September/October 2004 edition of AARP magazine, Karen Cheney writes about a new trend called "ethical wills." They have been around since medieval times, she tells us, and writing about stories, legacies, and values is an important document to leave to one’s family. Ethical wills are non-legal documents.
Ms. Cheney also notes that former President Clinton advised everyone over 50 to take time to write about their lives.
Author Alex Haley, who chronicled his family history in the landmark book Roots, once said, "In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future."
What parts of your story do you want to tell?
Teresa
A Note on WITNE’s Mission
For the last five years, we’ve sought to provide information, inspiration, and amusement to our readers, as well as general global trend-spotting. At WITNE, we believe that all of us can live inspired lives, whether we become legends or not. Everyone has a legacy; one needn’t find fame or fortune to have a lasting impact on people. A so-called "ordinary life" can be extraordinary.
News, notes, and other interesting tidbits:
YWCA England and Wales, along with an organization called Habia, has created the Shine Initiative to focus on the self-esteem of young women.
Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway, will be the keynote speaker at the Janus Women’s Convention in Wellington, New Zealand, to be held June 3rd— 6th, 2005. The theme of this convention is "Titiro whakamuri, haere whakamua: Looking Back, Moving Forward."
June 7th, 2005 marks National Hunger Awareness Day. According to the Society of St. Andrew, this day was designated to create awareness of the increasing numbers of Americans unable to feed themselves and their families.
Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea, will be the site of the 9th International Interdisciplinary Conference on Women, from June 19th — 24th. According to their web site, the Congress theme of Womens Worlds 2005 is "Embracing the Earth:East-West/North-South. This theme provides an excellent venue for reflecting a broad range of modern and postmodern orders and global issues. Under this theme, we expect to explore the changes, contestations, remappings and challenges of the categories of East-West/North-South. We will see how women's lives are interwoven--as well as separated--by the increasing economic and political disparity between North and South or the contesting images of East and West."
The University of Greenwich, England, will host the 6th International Women Into Computing Conference from July 14th — 16th, 2005. What is "Women Into Computing?" According to their web site, WIC "is a network of people committed to raising the profile of women in the computing and IT fields. Their membership is mostly based in the UK education sector, and includes people from many different areas of computing and a number of countries overseas."
Speaking of women and computers, Usability News.com notes that the 2005 Women in Games Conference will be held at University of Albertay, Dundee, Scotland from August 8th — 10th. One of the purposes for this interesting conference is "Empowerment and professional development for women working in and researching into games and the games industry." You can read more about this on the Women in Games site.
And, in the Southern Spring (Northern Autumn), Australians will commemorate "Anti-Poverty Week" during October 16th — 22nd. This is an Aussie-wide initiative designed to create awareness of the 1 million Australians living in hardship, amid the estimated 1 billion people on the planet, who live in poverty.
Media Watch:
In the May 16, 2005 issue of Fortune magazine, John Helyar writes of a disturbing trend in American life — Those who are over 50 and unemployed are scrambling to find new jobs. Some job hunts are taking years, and many are forced into involuntary early "retirement."
David France wrote a piece in the June edition of O Magazine about a 17-year-old female suicide bomber in Gaza. This disturbing story reflects the sad realities for many of the world’s young people. It is the type of story which is hard for Americans to understand; but understand, we must. The number of young women involved in suicide bombings will no doubt increase in the future.
Also, read this month's WITNE EXTRA:
The Problems of Poverty and Hunger
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