on September 30, 2026, 16:48:52, in reply to "I have no idea whether anybody would ever care about this"
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Maybe my kids would be interested in brief commentary on events that involved them. But my one page on watching the moon landing in 1969 or when my mother died, maybe not. At least it would be low investment to skim through.
Suppose I live another 20 years. What will I think if I read them myself in 20? Previous Message
year before she died. I remember getting it and we were all like "WTF is this?" Now I get it. You should look at some prompts for memoir questions and give it to your kids to give to your grandkids when they are older. My grandma's handwritten stories about the diphtheria quarantine when she was a kid that I happened to read during the first week of the Germ made me realize how badly society has lost its collective mind. Previous Message
The thread about school dances prompted me to mention a work in progress I started two weeks ago after hearing the idea in a podcast interview.
I bought a journal and have been writing one-page memories from across my life. I am up to 115 entries, with more to follow in catching up. It's been fun and serious and an interesting exercise to think about what's worth mentioning, and who. Like there's one on my first date in high school.
Here's what I have about my years at Illinois so far.
* Picking a college
* My first computer programs
* Switch majors (to Engineering)
* Bronze Tablet
* Road trip to "The Who" concert
* Two on my girlfriend (a good memory and another on the breakup)
* Summer school one year
* My freshman dorm (Forbes)
* Ho Chi Minh Trail on campus
* Working at the Daily Illini
* A semester internship / study program away
* Streaking fad
* Illinois beats Magic Johnson
* The Four-Color Map math problem
Maybe I will say something about concerts or the bars or some specific people other than the girlfriend.
"Iowa women were better than Illini men" - Potomac30
