Oral History Is Great, IF You Can Remember Anything

[lydamorehouse]

 Today I went back to Augsburg University (was College, when I attended) to meet up with a lovely young person who is doing an oral history project about the queer history of my alma mater. I was a founding member of the very first GLBTQIA+ organization on campus, which we ever-so cleverly named BAGLS, Bisexual And Gay/Lesbian Services--yes, we left off the T. It was, to my memory not intentional malice?  I think we were just trying to have a silly excuse to serve bagels at our meetings?

But, the omission stands forever now as history for me to be ashamed of.

As a bonus, one of the other things I can be embarrassed forever about was how very little I remembered about anything involving the actual experience in that group. Like, seriously, I was on the ground floor, fighting the daily fights, and yet when the interviewer would ask me, "So, I see that your budget was slashed the second year after your formation. What was that about?" I was all: "?? We had a budget??" Them: "Ah, okay, so... there is a record of a hearing being held to defend the formation of your group. What do you remember from that?" Me: ...  .... ....  (internally: f*ck if I know!!)  "Uh, let me tell you about what I do remember..." (tells ribald story involving someone I dated.)

To be fair to me, that was over thirty years ago.

But, wow. I would call that an unmitigated disaster. If I were them, I'd be wondering why I bothered to get the fancy recording equipment out. 

Comments

[dreamshark]

ROFL! That would so be me! I remember the broad outlines of things, but I'm frequently astounded by tangible reminders that there were entire trips I took, hobbies I obsessed over, favorite recipes I can barely remember even eating, and beloved neighbors and colleagues whose names I no longer recall. If that interviewer knows what she is doing she is interviewing a lot of other people too in the hopes of getting a good collage of memories.

If nothing else, I hope she appreciated your ability to shift the narrative from your embarrassing memory lapse to a ribald story. Good plan! (probably the only thing that actually turns up in her story.)