Passing It On

Bring me popcorn: It’s family history movie time!

I’m a big fan of family movies. Family history movies, that is.

For me it goes back to “Citizen Kane,” the Orson Welles epic about the life of a newspaper mogul told in a retrospective style as investigators try to solve the one lingering mystery of The Great Man’s final cryptic words: Who (or what) was Rosebud?

As I wrote before, I think the Tim Burton film, “Big Fish,” is the ultimate father-son movie. Although I try to watch this film every June, somehow it eluded me this year.

Now come a couple new must-sees in this genre: “Young at Heart” and “Google Me: The Movie.”

“Young at Heart” has been playing locally recently as fellow blogger Jann Freed notes. This story about a singing group of some thirty 80-somethings who cover everyone from The Clash to Coldplay, will be available on DVD in mid-September. I find it perfectly natural that music transcends the ages. It was a 20-something Paul Simon, after all, who wrote the memorable line “How terribly strange to be 70” in his poetic tribute to senior citizens, “Old Friends,” on Simon & Garfunkel’s classic “Bookends” album.

“Google Me” is a quirky extension of the practice of Googling one’s own name. Come on, everybody does it – a quick check of one’s cyberspace status. When Jim Killeen did it, he found 24 other Jim Killeens scattered around the planet. He tracked down as many as he could and six of them participated in this documentary, which is now available on DVD.

The best family movies, of course, are those of your own family. Now would be a good time to dig them out of their hiding place and give them a proper viewing. If you’re a generation or two behind the technology (film or videotape, for example), you might want to bring them up to date before the equipment necessary to play them disappears forever.

Larry Lehmer is a personal historian who helps people preserve their family histories. To learn more, visit his web site or send him an e-mail.

Flickr photo courtesy of    Firstposter.com Movie Posters Wall.

Time to make your own Top 10 lists

My morning paper had a list of Roger Ebert’s Top 10 movies of 2007. There were also three similar lists from other movie critics.

It’s that time of year. There are lists of just about everything: best new restaurants in town, top news stories of the year, goofiest news stories of the year. The turning of a new year is always a time for reflecting on the events of the past year and projecting our hopes for the year ahead.

Now is a good time to make your own personal history lists for 2007. Pick a few topics and start writing. Write about big events in your life, memorable people you’ve met, trips you’ve taken, things you’ve done that brought a smile to your face. Make some promises for 2008, too. If you’ve been thinking about that family history project for awhile, vow to make it happen in 2008.

For those who may want assistance in completing a family history project, we have a list of our own, called “The Top 10 reasons why When Words Matter should write your history.” Feel free to share this list or a link to this blog with anyone you know who may be interested in finally putting their plans for creating a family history into motion. The list:
    1. We are experienced, skilled professionals.
    2. We will help connect you to your ancestors and descendants through your life stories.
    3. When you hire us, it will get done, within your budget and on time.
    4. We treat every conversation with you as private and confidential.
    5. Our writing is clear and concise and presented in an engaging style.
    6. We will work closely with you to ensure that the final product fulfills your expectations.
    7. Most people spend at least six years to write their biographies. We can finish your project in a fraction of that time.
    8. Family members are often more open with strangers, especially a skilled interviewer.
    9. We provide the motivation, structure and encouragement to complete your project.
    10. We will take facts of your life and turn them into a valued document that will preserve forever your unique life.

Larry Lehmer is founder and president of When Words Matter, a company that specializes in collecting stories and writing family stories. Check out his web site or send him an e-mail.

Flickr photo courtesy of Emo Squid.