“Bike saved my life!” An oral history story that will live on for generations.
Posted by donraymedia on June 11, 2009
When Doris Tidrick was nine, an infected blister on her foot led to a life-threatening case of osteomyelitis. In 1996 — a year before she died, Doris (Tidrick) Quinn told the details of her brush with death in an oral history her children arranged. They had heard the story before, but it took a stranger’s curiosity and professionalism to reel in the compelling details of how a loving father in the depths of the Great Depression used the promise of a brand new bicycle to infuse Doris with the desire to fight for her life.
Is there someone in your life with a library of wisdom and stories that could inspire the yet unborn children of the future?
Look for the resources on this blog — resources that may empower you to conduct or arrange for an oral history video of your loved one.
This entry was posted on June 11, 2009 at 5:17 pm and is filed under Stories based upon oral history-style interviews. Tagged: anecdotes, inspirational, oral history sample. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
donraymedia said
(This is the comment that Jon Robinson inadvertently posted in the wrong category.)
Don:
Your mother was a neat lady! I teared up watching the video because I know what it puts you through to see it, and I so wish I had something like this for my parents.
Of course, I’m really mad at myself because, when they were alive, I knew better. I had been interviewing old people for a year by the time my dad got sick. With his diabetes, my dad was elderly before his time, and I knew time was getting short, but I didn’t do anything about it even though I knew how important it was. It’s even worse with my mom because I had been interviewing old people for 13 years by then.
I know why I hesitated. To think about doing an oral history would have forced me to recognize they were going to die, and it would have also said to them, “I need to get your memories on tape because you’re going to die soon.” I realize I should have done it anyway, but at the time, when you’re in the conversation, it seems like such a cruel thing to say or even just imply.
(I had to take a little break here to cry over my lost parents. I’ve come to realize that, even though my dad has been dead for 15 years and my mother’s been dead for three years, but grief over both of them is only now really hitting me.)
Back to your mother, I was especially charmed by the shot of her riding a bicycle. From the cars and the clothes, it looks to be about 1960. That’s the kind of thing that would make other boys say, “You have a cool mom.”
It looks like she was game for anything, and I can easily see her driving the race cars.
JON
donraymedia said
Thanks for the kind words, Jon.
Your guess about the bicycle scene was pretty close. It was probably in early 1964 when my mother took a joy ride on the bicycle of my friend, Alan Mulder.
You’re right about the “you’re going to die” implication. I felt it a bit when I asked my mother to participate, but in our case, she knew that her time was limited.
I was sad when I was editing and color correcting the video segment I posted, but after a long day of attending to it, I was feeling a remarkable peace. Later, I realized that I felt good because I had spent an entire day with my mother.
When you have a quality video of someone, it’s nice to be able to hear them laugh and see them smile again.
I’m sure that you know that you’ll be mourning the loss of your lovely mother for a long time. It’s part of the cycle of life.
One thing’s for sure: I’m so glad that I had a chance to meet your mother and to understand just how special she was.
Again, thanks!
Don Ray