Seniors Stories

Enjoy stories straight from the imaginations of the AboutSeniors online community. Read their experiences, ideas and histories or find some fun in the writings of Mr Eric Shackle.

Is it just me?

Speaking to a friend recently about how much we were looking forward to summer, she mentioned that she always associated the sound of cicadas chirruping with the warmer months. I had an instant vision of myself, aged about eight or nine, out in our backyard, in the dark, armed with my Dad’s garden shovel, trying to find those damn cicadas and bash them over the head. I can still hear my exasperated mother calling me to come inside.

I was not a good sleeper as a child, and the incredible noise that issues forth from those little critters used to drive me nuts. I don’t think I ever actually made contact with any of them – they have a remarkable ability to become invisible and to shut up when humans approach, but that didn’t stop my frenzied, murderous attempts to silence them.

I used to wrap up my watch in a jumper and put it in a drawer as well, claiming that the ticking kept me awake. These excuses were just furphies, employed to delay my bedtime as long as possible. The real reason I couldn’t sleep is that I was a worrier with an over-active imagination.

I saw boogey-men that weren’t there, I used to line up my heaviest books near the bed so that I could throw them at intruders (that’d work!), and keep my eyes closed in the dark so that ghosts wouldn’t see them shining and come for me.

Thank God those days are gone. Funny how having children cures insomnia. Motherhood gave me the ability to sleep like never before – anywhere, anytime.

I still worry about things, but one of the huge joys of being older is that I no longer sweat the small stuff. When I listen to my sons and their friends agonising endlessly over what I call Home-and-Away-type trivia, I feel a great sense of relief that my priorities are different now.

Whereas once I would focus on the petty dramas of my everyday life, now it’s joy that I look for and appreciate. Being able to see the big picture and knowing that whatever the problem is, it will pass, is a great gift, and one of the many rewards of ageing.

Although we’d love to stick an old head on the young shoulders of our kids so that they could avoid being derailed by unimportant minutiae, we can’t. We just have to let them learn the hard way, like we did. They wouldn’t listen to us ‘oldies’ anyway, just as we didn’t.

I moved to Melbourne from Queensland last January, and getting up in the dark at 4 a.m. to get ready for a day’s filming when it’s below 10 ˚C has been a challenge. So this summer I’ll be revelling in the long, delightfully light evenings right up till daylight saving finishes. Walking my dog on the beach, wide open windows, twilight swims, barbecues, mangoes – heaven.

And those noisy cicadas won’t bother me in the least, now that I know how lucky I am.

Why not check out our Discount Directory?

Country blog

An AboutSeniors subscriber shared with us a wonderful blog site updated daily named Victoria in the Country, which we recommend reading!

Dictionary of Sydney

If you’ve been able to call Sydney home, then maybe you have an interesting tale or funny story that could be included in the Dictionary of Sydney.

The project for creating the Dictionary of Sydney is well underway, with historians, researchers and writers donating their time to compile stories, pictures, maps, sound, film and documents to paint a picture of Sydney from earliest human habitation to present day.

If you wish to view what has been collected so far, or provide your own stories and memories, visit Dictionary of Sydney.

Recycling your stories

We all have recollections of events that happened to us. Putting these stories to good use and writing your own autobiography is one way of ensuring they are simply not forgotten.

Hazel Edwards’ monthly column suggests ways to make the telling of your family history, a memorable experience for reader and writer.

2008: June Autobiographies.

Question: How do I write my autobiography without boring my readers?

Answer:
Memoirs are in fashion. But who are you writing it for?

A memoir is one person’s version of events. The memoir concentrates on extracts whereas an autobiography may cover a whole life. You write your own autobiography. If someone else writes your life history then it’s a biography. So a memoir may be a good way to start an autobiography. Concentrate on the short, interesting bits first.

Antarctic Writer on Ice is the closest to autobiography I have written, and it’s based on the emails sent and interviews done while I was beset in the Antarctic polar ice with 34 blokes and three other women expeditioners. But it was the candid day-to-day details of an older woman coping in Antarctica which interested readers most.

Many memoirs are based on diaries because this captures the immediacy of all senses. But even travel diaries still require editing for diplomacy and for readability. Some autobiographies are egotistical exercises in chronological boredom. For the reader, not the writer, avoid this!

Consider:
· Who might want to read about your life?
· Why?  Are you especially candid or funny? Is your life typical of a group?
· Is the story just about you or insightful of the period, setting or culture in which you grew up?
· Start at the most dramatic point, and flashback.
· Use anecdotes which are mini stories, not lists of dates. Put these into charts or sidebars.
· Don’t over-use ‘I’.
· If several versions exist, admit this. ‘Questions remain unanswered….is a great start …’
· Trial stories by telling them aloud first.
· Don’t sanitise, be honest, but aware of legalities
· What happened? What was the significance of this?
· Is this a secret? Who might be hurt by publishing this?
· Is the ‘voice’ genuine?  Or is the tone off-putting to a reader.
· What is the underlying conflict or drama?
· What makes this story different from others? Humour?

YOUR TURN:

Select an amusing incident from your early adulthood. Tell it from the first person’ I’ viewpoint. Have a specific reader in mind.

My site, (www.hazeledwards.com) has useful links to writing sites and publishers
The Australian Society of Authors (www.asauthors.org) is a national organisation which has self publishing and writing family histories pamphlets.

Life matters

Jan’s book depicts life in a residential aged care facility and you can imagine some of the stories she must have from twenty years in the industry. She’s obviously got a sense of humour, although there’s sure to be some more serious subject matter covered in the book. You can contact Jan directly to find out more about her story or to order a copy or ten.
Price: $15.00 plus $3.00 postage
To order book: send a cheque to Jan Gallard, 14 Milo St., Wondunna QLD or emailto:

Out of the mouths of babes

You’ve got to love these sweet definitions of what a grandparent really is, kindly sent to us by Gp.Capt A B Mehta (Retd), Vice President of the Senior Citizens Forum in Bhopal, India.

· Grandparents are a lady and a man who have no little children of their own. They like other people’s.
· A grandfather is a man grandmother.
· Grandparents don’t have to do anything except be there when we come to see them. They are so old they shouldn’t play hard or run. It is good if they drive us to the store and have lots of quarters for us.
· When they take us for walks, they slow down past things like pretty leaves and caterpillars.
· They show us and talk to us about the color of the flowers and also why we shouldn’t “step on cracks”.
· They don’t say, “Hurry up!”
· Usually grandmothers are fat, but not too fat to tie your shoes.
· They wear glasses and funny underwear.
· They can take their teeth and gums out.
· Grandparents don’t have to be smart. They have to answer questions like, “Why isn’t God married?” and “How come dogs chase cats?”
· When they read to us, they don’t skip. They don’t mind if we ask for the same story over again.
· Everybody should try to have a grandmother, especially if you don’t have television, because they are the only grown ups who like to spend time with us.
· They know we should have snack-time before bedtime and they say prayers with us every time, and kiss us even when we’ve acted bad.
· A six-year-old was asked where his grandma lived. ‘’Oh,’’ he said, ‘’she lives at the airport, and when we want her we just go get her. Then when we’re done having her visit, we take her back to the airport!”

Visit the Senior Citizens’ forum in India by clicking here