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Ancestor Stories
Oct. 12th, 2004 08:18 pmIn Hebrew Scriptures class last night, we discussed the three different times the story is told of a patriarch who tries to pass off his wife as his sister (Abraham twice, Isaac once). Now why, the prof asked us, would a story like that be one of the things that was passed down?
That led to a discussion of "ancestor stories." What are the stories that your family tells and re-tells about Those Who Came Before? And then we broke into small groups to tell those stories.
That's when I found out that I don't have good ancestor stories. I have a bunch of good stories about my family, especially my parents. I have a couple of stories about my grandparents. I seem to remember that my maternal grandmother's father (or grandfather?) had a bakery, and that the family had to leave town one night because their neighbors tried to burn down the bakery, but I can't remember the reason why. I have no stories about why any branch of the family came to this country. No stories of particularly colorful or formidable ancestors.
So today I talked with my dad on the phone and commented on this to him and asked him why we don't have any stories. I could hear the shrug in his voice as he said, "They just don't seem relevant to the life we have now."
Then I made my other observation: that although his public personna is one of dignity, responsibility, and reserve, most of the stories he tells about his own youth are trickster-type stories: about the fake ink spill on his mother's lace tablecloth, or substituting flashbulbs for lightbulbs in the storeroom of the man who fired him. "You would think of something like that," he said -- which was not really in character for him. The conversation made him uncomfortable in a way I don't often hear.
It was fascinating. . . And it makes me want to sit down and interrogate both him and my mother about their families. Although our aunts Frances and Gloria (one from each side) would probably be better sources.
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raptures_shadow, what do you think?
And the rest of you: do your families have ancestor stories?
That led to a discussion of "ancestor stories." What are the stories that your family tells and re-tells about Those Who Came Before? And then we broke into small groups to tell those stories.
That's when I found out that I don't have good ancestor stories. I have a bunch of good stories about my family, especially my parents. I have a couple of stories about my grandparents. I seem to remember that my maternal grandmother's father (or grandfather?) had a bakery, and that the family had to leave town one night because their neighbors tried to burn down the bakery, but I can't remember the reason why. I have no stories about why any branch of the family came to this country. No stories of particularly colorful or formidable ancestors.
So today I talked with my dad on the phone and commented on this to him and asked him why we don't have any stories. I could hear the shrug in his voice as he said, "They just don't seem relevant to the life we have now."
Then I made my other observation: that although his public personna is one of dignity, responsibility, and reserve, most of the stories he tells about his own youth are trickster-type stories: about the fake ink spill on his mother's lace tablecloth, or substituting flashbulbs for lightbulbs in the storeroom of the man who fired him. "You would think of something like that," he said -- which was not really in character for him. The conversation made him uncomfortable in a way I don't often hear.
It was fascinating. . . And it makes me want to sit down and interrogate both him and my mother about their families. Although our aunts Frances and Gloria (one from each side) would probably be better sources.
raptures_shadow, what do you think?And the rest of you: do your families have ancestor stories?
