Since 2003 I have visited (one afternoon each week) with my dear friend, 'Sir John'. At near 92 he is the spunkiest, wittiest, most articulate and determined to 'solve the problems of the world' individual I will ever hope to meet. He generally puts his extreme intellect to solving the political problems of any given the day.
Sir John is funny, feisty and in all ways an amazing human being. He is a a music aficionado with a vast knowledge of opera and symphonic music. His well kept yard is a secret garden, a haven, filled with countless Camillas, all of which have been named, so that when he walks among them he speaks to each of them directly.
Back in 'his day' he was a computer whiz and developed soft ware programs for the Navy. His little home is populated with computers, recording and sound equipment and until recently (before his body went into decline) he would be online most mornings chatting with friends and family via email.
In 2007, after I introduced him to video upload technology he said "Let's do that." He received a Flip camera gift from his daughter... and the rest is literally 'his-story'. For the past 18 months, I have the pleasure (and the learning curve) of being his 'hair and make-up', sound and production person as he continuously scripts and sits for me as we tape for YouTube. Here's our most recent entry...
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I always love your Sir John stories - so glad you've introduced him here :)
ReplyDeleteThanks Karin
ReplyDeleteI don't think that there is anything that could give him more 'aliveness' than hearing that some folks checked out his 'Bumper Sticker Philosophy'.
What a beautiful thing! I should do the same with my 85-year-old dad, who was a POW for four years. He has some tales to tell, and fortunately they've been archived, both in written and oral forms, in various places. These older and wiser sages are certainly mentors from whom we can learn much!
ReplyDeleteHi Amy...I was lucky enough to 'interview my dad' and we have everything from his childhood on...even though it took quuite a bit of prodding to get him to speak of anything other than his WWII days in the South Pacific!
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