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A journal of one-page memories

Posted by Potomac User icon on September 30, 2026, 13:15:55

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.

My best friend wrote a book about our lives, years ago. Amazing what you forget

Posted by Mismysteri User icon on October 2, 2026, 06:48:53, in reply to "A journal of one-page memories"

over the many years until you read about it..and "OH MAN! I forgot about THAT!" and the laughs are great. We enjoy still reading excerpts sometimes when we talk about a past event.

Neither of us has kids, but I guess my niece /nephew and her nephews who she is close with and are 30-ish now and just having kids might enjoy it someday..because it's about all our adventures and travels and high school and college experiences (from 1983 on) mostly - so it is fun to read, actually...not all fun stuff..some sad/real life events everyone has, also.

That said, I think for the most part, most people are forgotten within 2 more generations, simply because they didn't know the person at all.

Unless you ae Elvis, etc..it just happens. All that said, I am very glad she wrote it! They can read excerpts at my funeral to make everyone laugh and smile..and more than that..we really get a kick out of it and the memories we would have certainly "forgotten" at this point - 40+ years later.

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^^^ Very nice. I should look for more funny stores to add. This morning...

Posted by Potomac User icon on October 2, 2026, 07:52:52, in reply to "My best friend wrote a book about our lives, years ago. Amazing what you forget"

... I wrote one that was very serious. Item #126 is about finding a missing person. I was working on a transit system and had access to internal data about passengers, fare cards and trips. I helped the police find an older woman who had wandered off in the night and had likely ridden a bus.

I doubt I have anywhere near the number of funny stories that you do. I should add an item about the time you and I and Pooter and Mrs. P met.

Wow, that is a neat story! Yes, you should add that, it was a very nice morning;)*

Posted by Mismysteri User icon on October 2, 2026, 07:57:36, in reply to "^^^ Very nice. I should look for more funny stores to add. This morning..."

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I used to do this. And I used to be big into genealogy. But now that I’ve come to terms

Posted by Philo User icon on October 1, 2026, 16:25:33, in reply to "A journal of one-page memories"
Center of the Universe

with the fact that I’ll never have grandkids, I’ve lost interest in it.

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My dad didn’t become a grandpa until he was 75

Posted by WesMantooth User icon on October 2, 2026, 11:00:53, in reply to "I used to do this. And I used to be big into genealogy. But now that I’ve come to terms"

Keep the hope!

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with the fact that I’ll never have grandkids, I’ve lost interest in it.

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Uneducated Redneck Piece of Shit

I think I understand the feeling

Posted by Potomac User icon on October 1, 2026, 18:00:55, in reply to "I used to do this. And I used to be big into genealogy. But now that I’ve come to terms"

Even though I have two, and perhaps my newly married son might add to the set, almost everything I have that survives me will be tossed right away, or later by my children, with maybe a remnant or two retained by a grandchild. Beyond that, I will just be another person on the tree.

Not counting photos and one or two letters, I don’t think I have a single item of my grandparents. That wasn’t helped by my father losing both parents in the 1930s.

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with the fact that I’ll never have grandkids, I’ve lost interest in it.

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My grandma handwrote us memoirs in 1989 and my mom gave me the book the

Posted by fratstud User icon on September 30, 2026, 15:48:58, in reply to "A journal of one-page memories"
Go Zags!

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.

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"Iowa women were better than Illini men" - Potomac

I have no idea whether anybody would ever care about this

Posted by Potomac User icon on September 30, 2026, 16:43:49, in reply to "My grandma handwrote us memoirs in 1989 and my mom gave me the book the"

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?

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If nothing else, do it for yourself…

Posted by kokomojo User icon on October 3, 2026, 09:23:32, in reply to "I have no idea whether anybody would ever care about this"

Upon reading your initial post I thought what a great idea, if only I’d thought of it 40 years ago.
I too have fond memories of college and some of the zany antics of those years. But sadly, the memory gets fuzzy with age, and specific details or particular individuals involved starts fading with time.

I have a regular lunch gathering with some guys I lived in the dorms with, and inevitably some classic old stories come up each time, but I’m always a bit surprised how another guy remembers the same event a little differently.
Really wish I’d kept a journal in real time

With the one-page limit, you don't need to recall a lot of details

Posted by Potomac User icon on October 3, 2026, 10:53:07, in reply to "If nothing else, do it for yourself…"

For example, I told the story of Eddie Johnson and the Illini beating MSU, followed by the collapse of the season, in one page. Don't give up on the idea if you think it might work. I'm up to #133. I might add one today about people who annoy me, after someone annoyed me while shopping this morning. That would be real-time, and also a small personality capture.

I think there may be more there than you are giving credit for.

Posted by GAIllini User icon on October 1, 2026, 08:28:40, in reply to "I have no idea whether anybody would ever care about this"

You personally experienced some major historical events and things that were part of your everyday life that don't even exist today.

I would think younger generations would find more about those things interesting.

Roll it forward every few years and leave it in the house. Someone will care*

Posted by fratstud User icon on September 30, 2026, 16:48:52, in reply to "I have no idea whether anybody would ever care about this"
Go Zags!

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"Iowa women were better than Illini men" - Potomac

Just a few come to mind.

Posted by osklister User icon on September 30, 2026, 15:08:26, in reply to "A journal of one-page memories"

* My first computer programs

Gotta go back to HS: Basic. Not punch cards, but rather a roll of something like adding machine tape with holes punched into it that represented your program. And of course, the old-fashioned "call this number: wait until it beeps loudly at you and jam the phone receiver onto these two rubber cups".

* My freshman dorm (Forbes)

Same. Hopkins, Garner, etc with their split floors were like MILES away. LOLOLOL.

* Ho Chi Minh Trail on campus

I know what you're talking about, but imagine saying that today. AFAIK, entirely paved now, none of that pea-gravel that I recall.

I wonder how long the Ho Chi Minh Trail label lasted*

Posted by Potomac User icon on September 30, 2026, 15:39:27, in reply to "Just a few come to mind."

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* My first computer programs

Gotta go back to HS: Basic. Not punch cards, but rather a roll of something like adding machine tape with holes punched into it that represented your program. And of course, the old-fashioned "call this number: wait until it beeps loudly at you and jam the phone receiver onto these two rubber cups".

* My freshman dorm (Forbes)

Same. Hopkins, Garner, etc with their split floors were like MILES away. LOLOLOL.

* Ho Chi Minh Trail on campus

I know what you're talking about, but imagine saying that today. AFAIK, entirely paved now, none of that pea-gravel that I recall.

I remember the HCM trail, vaguely…

Posted by kokomojo User icon on October 3, 2026, 09:13:56, in reply to "I wonder how long the Ho Chi Minh Trail label lasted*"

as I lived in ISR.
As I recall it was a short cut from 6 pack, correct?
Can you describe it in more detail?

Posted by kokomojo User icon on October 3, 2026, 09:13:56, in reply to "I wonder how long the Ho Chi Minh Trail label lasted*"

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