The doldrums are a term used to describe an area near the Equator where sailing ships can become stuck on windless waters. The doldrums can also refer to a spell of listlessness that can settle into one’s soul during the long grey days of winter.
Welcome to the February doldrums. Aside from Valentine’s Day’s bright red and pink and love everywhere, February hasn’t much going for it. But it could.
In the fall of 2007, a 100 Mile man called the Free Press to ask if they could suggest someone who might help him make a list of things that had happened in his life. It would be for his children. They knew some of his story, he said, but the main thing he wanted was to describe the many jobs he had worked at in all kinds of interesting places across Canada. I was given his number.
I knew of Harold Gangloff through his son Tim. As it turned out, that list of jobs turned into a book. Harold was a storyteller. Twice a week, I went to his home in Seniors Gardens. He talked, we ate apple fritters from BJ’s, and the tape recorder ran on.
We did make a list of Harold’s jobs. However, each job turned out to be a terrific story as Harold told what happened, with humour and honesty. Then came what he knew of his family’s background, his childhood on a remote homestead in northern Ontario, and his amazing experiences in workplaces all across Canada, back when a new job was just a hitchhike away. Each story was captivating.
In February of 2008, I put The Wanderer together with help from Brent Trenholme and the book was out. What a great gift from Harold to his family.
Material inheritances have their place but eventually they fade. Leaving behind even a short account of your family’s background and your own life would be a treasure for generations ahead.
Writing your own story is much easier than you might think. You too could start with a list of jobs. Guaranteed every job will have a story. Another way to start is to make a list of each step in your life, from birth on. Each step in your life is a separate story, a new hand-written page in a binder, or a new document on your computer. As memories pop into your head, and they will, you write that memory on the relevant page.
You could start with a short account of your family’s background. The next chapters could be your parents’ story, your childhood and so on to the present.
Under Childhood, you could describe your childhood home(s), neighbourhood kids, sickness, pets. School years can be divided into primary: that first day, teachers, friends, events. Teenage years could include many details, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Write as if you are telling the story to someone. Then read what you have written aloud, to another person if possible, or even to your dog. This is much more effective than reading a story silently.
Spelling is not important. Computers have spell check and every family seems to have a spelling whiz. Neither is using a computer. Charlie Faessler wrote his unique life story on yellow legal pads, with a pencil that smudged. There is always someone who will put your stories on a computer for you.
Memories do not come in chronological order. When you decide that you have written enough on each chapter you may see that the details in that chapter are not in the right order. For instance, school events. You can move the paragraphs around until everything works.
When you are satisfied that you are finished, the stories can be put in a binder, a folder, or made into a book. Small books can be printed and put together with a computer program, and there are many printing companies that can do an excellent job of producing your book.
By then you will have swept the winter doldrums away.
Marianne Van Osch is a local author, sharing stories of the Cariboo. Her books can be found at Nuthatch Books.
newsroom@100milefreepress.net
Like us on Facebook and follow us on X.
