It is amazing how our minds seem to have a great capacity to remember stories. Stories can be as vivid in our minds at the present time as when they actually happened in our distant past. I was reminded of this fact when I was reflecting on my father’s life. He died in 2004, and when people ask me about him, I tell them he was a great father. When I want to explain this in more detail, my mind immediately brings up my favorite stories about him.
My go-to story about my father was about how he loved nature, and that I remember how we would go for walks in the fall to the nearby forest preserve. My dad loved to look at the trees when their leaves would change color. During our walks, we had a favorite tree that we would always visit. It was gigantic old oak tree that was hanging over the river. My dad named the tree “Old Firewood.” He said when the tree would eventually fall or be cut down, it was going to provide a large amount of firewood for someone. Picturing Old Firewood in my mind today is as clear as it was when I was looking at this tree nearly 40 years ago. My memories for our walks in the woods will stay with me forever.
Another favorite story about my dad was how he would take me to the tree nursery to pick out new trees to plant in our yard. He knew everything about the different trees, and he would tell me about their specific characteristics. What I looked forward to the most about visiting the nursery, however, was the soda-pop machine they had there. It was an older style machine that dropped down a glass bottle of soda-pop, and you had to use the bottle opener that was on the front of the machine to take off the bottle-cap. After you were finished drinking the pop, you had to leave the bottle in a crate next to the machine so it could be washed and reused. I can clearly remember the taste of the Orange Crush that I would get from that machine, and my mouth still waters from it. It is amazing how it can feel like it was only yesterday when I went to the tree nursery with my dad.
I am also likely to retell the stories of how my dad took care of our house when I was growing up. Even though he was a college professor, as his profession, he was not afraid to do manual labor. He said doing some manual labor was good for you. I remember how we used to wash the windows together, where he would be on a ladder outside, and I would walk around the house on the inside. We would wash the inside and outside glass at the same time, and we would challenge each other to find spots that the other person didn’t see. I remember clearly our times washing windows together now whenever I wash windows in my current home.
I also recall clearly how my dad would be painting our house in the fall. Before there was vinyl siding, houses needed to be painted about every four years. My father would break up this job by painting sides that faced one direction each year — year one – North side, year two – East side, year three – South side, and year four- West side. After 4 years, the entire house would be painted. I often tell that story to others, and believe it was a great way to break down a large painting job.
Stories in our minds represent our most vivid memories, and ones that will stay with us forever. It is a reason that stories should become a greater part of our educational lives. We won’t forget a story because we took a test on it, and now the test is over. Instead, the memory will be with us forever, which is the main reason for education. Of course, books, especially fiction can provide us with great stories. We should find additional ways for students (and everyone) to read books or watch movies related to important educational content — such as when learning history. The content will stay with them and enrich their minds forever. I learned so much about the Civil War from reading (and watching) Gone With the Wind, and I can still picture the main scenes of that story. Increasingly, the power of visuals from media will allow for a greater use of stories to enrich and improve our memories. Stories can be provided for no other reason than to “open everyone’s eyes to what is possible in the world.” Like the stories I remember about my father, greater uses of media through technology can allow for this valuable memory aid to be utilized on a regular basis for everyone’s benefit.