This is beautifully done, it turns something as ordinary as a planner into something completely different. I loved the idea of those datebooks as a kind of “paper cemetery”, not just records, but fragments of a life that only you now fully understand. There’s something both comforting and unsettling in that. A moving piece, and a powerful reminder that even the most routine records can become deeply meaningful over time.
Thank you, Paul! I want to eventually write something about the things that only we remember and that we carry along with us from previous generations. A "katra," if you happen to be a "Star Trek" fan. But you call out something equally extraordinary, particularly to genealogists: that the routine eventually becomes the priceless. I once had a famous architect/cultural thinker, the late Steve Izenour, tell me that "the measure of authenticity is time." I quite like that, even though it can be abused.
I like that quote Ted and will certainly use that in the future! True authenticity cannot be established instantly; it is tested by longevity and persistence. Whether writing a thesis or posting on Substack time is the true measure. Will it endure?
This is beautifully done, it turns something as ordinary as a planner into something completely different. I loved the idea of those datebooks as a kind of “paper cemetery”, not just records, but fragments of a life that only you now fully understand. There’s something both comforting and unsettling in that. A moving piece, and a powerful reminder that even the most routine records can become deeply meaningful over time.
Thank you, Paul! I want to eventually write something about the things that only we remember and that we carry along with us from previous generations. A "katra," if you happen to be a "Star Trek" fan. But you call out something equally extraordinary, particularly to genealogists: that the routine eventually becomes the priceless. I once had a famous architect/cultural thinker, the late Steve Izenour, tell me that "the measure of authenticity is time." I quite like that, even though it can be abused.
I like that quote Ted and will certainly use that in the future! True authenticity cannot be established instantly; it is tested by longevity and persistence. Whether writing a thesis or posting on Substack time is the true measure. Will it endure?