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COLLECTING FAMILY STORIES--PART 2

© Dorothy Hill

3. YOU CAN'T TELL WHICH WAY THE PICKLE'S GONNA SQUIRT. During the interview it is easy to stray from the subject. If the conversation is not leading anywhere, lead the person back to the topic, but be prepared for the unexpected. Sometimes your relative may reveal something you never expected. Make note of it so that you can talk about it later, for it is usually better to move the conversation back to the original questions before you get too far astray. But this is a judgment call. I did that once and when I later tried to approach the subject again the moment was lost.

4. GREAT OAKS START AS SMALL ACORNS. In planning that great interview with a relative, remember the smallest details. I went to interview someone once and forgot to check my batteries. My tape recorder was dead, and I had to reschedule. When I go to interview my father, I will be sure I have extra batteries and tapes. Just because audio tapes don't usually break doesn't mean they won't. Be prepared and then be prepared some more.

5. WELL, I SWANNIE. One of the main things that I need to remember when I interview my father is to make the interview fun. If he or I don't enjoy what we are doing, it will show in the material that I gather. It will be dull and incomplete, and, more than likely, it will never be finished.

6. NUFF SAID. Just talking about it never gets the job done. It's time to go interview my father.