Letters Not Sent Part 1: To my Great Uncle Doc
Dear Doc,
Thanks for sharing your time and your story with me. You had some hard times, and I felt honored that you trusted me to listen and record them, though you barely knew me. I will always remember those hours sitting out on the lawn, talking with you, Dad, and Francis, and drinking lemonade and petting the dog while the camera rolled. I wish we'd had more time. I guess that's what people always say when someone they know dies.
I want to let you know that the paper I did using your stories was a success. Thanks to your help, I graduated with Honors. I feel like you must have been proud of me in advance, because you gave me your Creek ribbon shirt. I'll be honest. I didn't know what to do with it then. Not sure I do even now. I feel so disconnected from that culture. I grew up in white suburban America, after all. In most ways, that is my culture. So, for you to give me this piece of Creek regalia felt strange; like an honor I hadn't earned.
But thank you, nonetheless.
Goodbye, Doc.
You will be missed.
You will be remembered.
-Will M.
Thanks for sharing your time and your story with me. You had some hard times, and I felt honored that you trusted me to listen and record them, though you barely knew me. I will always remember those hours sitting out on the lawn, talking with you, Dad, and Francis, and drinking lemonade and petting the dog while the camera rolled. I wish we'd had more time. I guess that's what people always say when someone they know dies.
I want to let you know that the paper I did using your stories was a success. Thanks to your help, I graduated with Honors. I feel like you must have been proud of me in advance, because you gave me your Creek ribbon shirt. I'll be honest. I didn't know what to do with it then. Not sure I do even now. I feel so disconnected from that culture. I grew up in white suburban America, after all. In most ways, that is my culture. So, for you to give me this piece of Creek regalia felt strange; like an honor I hadn't earned.
But thank you, nonetheless.
Goodbye, Doc.
You will be missed.
You will be remembered.
-Will M.