LEGACY STORIES NEED LEGWORK

Legacy stories are history stories, as in historical.

Some are accurate depictions of a time, an era, and get passed down.

Others are told with a touch of how the teller wished things had turned out, and they get passed down too.

With the advent and encouragement of and for citizen journalists, where is the trust level?

Please continue.

How often have you been in a conversation with more than one person and heard what you knew to be a problem?

For example I knew a guy when I was in college, a townie, and his parents lived in the community.

I’d even been to dinner at his house and met them.

Something seemed off, but I was a college kid and didn’t have the experience to know what it could be.

But I sensed disappointment in the air during dinner that night.

 

The next night the two of us went on a double date with college girls, one I knew and her friend.

My date and I sat in the back seat of his convertible Ford Fairlane driving around town and talking back and forth.

It had all the makings of a great memory like you see in movies with young guys and cute girls bundled up in the chilly night air.

Call is cozy.

At a stop light my buddy told his date about his parents and their fatal air accident in Europe.

They died in a plane crash?

My girl heard them talking and tearfully joined in.

The night took a turn down Sympathy Street with me sitting back wondering what the hell?

Was I supposed to call bullshit right away? If I was, I didn’t.

We dropped the girls off. They gave him big hugs and kind words and we drove off.

 

Me: What was that all about?

Bud: What was what all about?

Me: The stuff about your parents. What was that about. They’re not dead.

Bud: I know.

Me: So?

Bud: I’m going out with Stella tomorrow night. That’s what it was about.

Me: Those were your parents, right?

Bud: Sure, but having them die in a plane crash in Europe is more interesting than me living at home. Besides, that’s the key to sympathy sex.

Me: What?

Bud: These college girls are full of new feelings they don’t know what to do with, so I help.

Me: This is helping?

Bud: You could use a little help keeping up your end of the conversation.

Me: I guess I was a little lost on the topic.

Bud: Well you’d better get tuned in because your girl is ready to go. I can tell. If it’s not you it’ll be someone else.

Me: Like who?

Bud: Like me.

 

Legacy Friendship

I called foul and ejected any notion of doing anything else with the guy.

Outa here.

I saw the girls the next day and talked about the date.

They were both sad after hearing the guy lost both of his parents.

My girl pumped up her friend for her date later.

I told them I’d met his parents and the whole thing was made up.

Instead of being the hero saving them from some scoundrel working his scoundrel ways, I was the problem.

The guy was heartbroken, they said.

The people I met were probably an aunt and uncle, or maybe his adoptive parents, they said.

I didn’t understand, they said, how awful it was to lose a parent like him, or both of them.

I tried explaining things.

The guy’s goal is to get in your pants, I said, and he’s using a made up story about dead parents so you’ll let your guard down. Doesn’t that seem weird?

They thought it was weird that I told them.

Here’s a guy, I said, trolling the campus in a cool car. Good looking guy, right?

They both agreed.

So why does he need the story?

 

Legacy Stories In Real Life

The English stepped up when Germany invaded Poland to start WWII.

It was 1939; America declared war two years later in 1941.

That’s my mother in-law in the English Women’s Royal Naval Service, the WRNS, signaling ships in port.

She said she’d been engaged five times during the war before she got married.

Five times?

Yes, she said, it was something she and her friends did with guys going to war.

Getting back was not assured.

From History Hit:

 

I wasn’t quite sure what virginity was, to be honest, but I had a vague idea and discussed it with my cousin.

So that was very much foremost in my mind when it came to the issue of men and sex during my time in the WRNS.

Also, I had this business of keeping men at a distance because I believed I’d be bad luck to them – three of the boys in my friendship group had been killed early on in the war, including one who I was very fond of and who I probably would have otherwise married.

Quite a few of the men in the navy sort of made suggestions and I think a lot of the girls did lose their virginity during the war; not just because it was fun but also because they felt that these boys might not come back and that it was something they could give them to think about while they were gone. 

 

Her’s were sympathy engagements during a dire time and that was enough, she said.

She didn’t see any of them again.

 

Searching For Personal Legacy

BoomerPdx is full of personal legacy stories.

One of my readers asked why I do what I do, that if it was a legacy project he’d understand, otherwise I’m a loose nut.

I like legacy, being part of legacies, part of the continuing legacy of life as we know it.

What I don’t like are people tainting legacies with whatever comes to their mind, like my college buddy and his parents.

Talk about a loose nut.

Why not stay in your lane?

 

Everyone has a unique life story worth telling, and writing it down ensures it won’t be forgotten.

Whether it’s a memoir that captures your most meaningful moments or letters to loved ones filled with advice, your words can act as a bridge to the past for future generations.

Even short reflections about lessons you’ve learned or challenges you’ve overcome can inspire others. Writing doesn’t need to be polished or formal—it just needs to be real.

The process of reflecting and putting your life into words can be a legacy in itself, showing your loved ones how to find purpose and meaning in their own lives.

 

Find meaning in your life instead of making things up.

If you can’t find meaning, start living better.

Remember, you can do it.

If not, read a few more posts here.

This has been nearly 1200 words long and you made it.

I’m impressed. Legacy worthy?