Klinefelter Family 2005-2006
Originally uploaded by aaronklinefelter.
From my Uncle Danny:
“People both embrace and react against parental teachings. It helps to understand your parents, if you know their parents.
In the Old South, families had traditions and reputations to maintain. Children often heard, “Remember who you are”. In a mobile society each generation reinvents them selves. Most of my friends, try to start fresh once they leave home. I too focused on creating a fresh start,
until about age 40. Then I started looking at the ways that I chose to be free. I saw that they were influenced by my childhood home life.
In cultures with no written language, people have oral traditions. These oral traditions helped people know how they fit into the world. This year I discovered that my clan lacked oral traditions. I knew almost nothing about my great grand parents. When I was 20 I didn’t ask,
and now at 55 my parents are no longer able to tell me stories of their grand parents. So this Christmas I decided to help my niece and nephews avoid my mistake. Larry, Nancy, Connie and I told stories of our grand parents, to their children, at the Christmas dinner table.”
I recorded that conversation so as the oral tradition is now digital and preserved for future generations. You can download the mp3 audio file here (17 MB, 37 min.).
