I wonder how many of my readers remember the 1965 song, “I am Henry the Eighth, I am,” by Herman’s Hermits. Well, I am William the Fifth, I am.

I get a little grief about that little “V” at the end of my name from time to time.   Some people even tell me they’d “never do that to a child”, or “a child needs his own identity.” Hogwash! I’m proud of my “V”, and all of the roman numerals before me. My first son is just as proud of his “VI”. Not to say that my younger boy, Henry, isn’t equally proud to be the first!

I’m sad, though, that I know virtually nothing about William I, II, or even III. Their stories died with them. I know that they had interesting lives. I just know it. Even if each considered his own life mundane, I’m certain that I would read his story with relish. I want to know about his adventures, his loves, his day-to-day experiences. Who was his first girlfriend? What did he do for a living? What were his greatest threats? I’d love to know about his faith, his friends, and his in-laws. I’ll never know about these great men, as their stories died with them. That’s disappointing to me and a little sad for them.

I never knew that I’d grow to have a passion for the personal life story. I guess I’ve found myself on a bit of a mission. With Father’s Day around the corner, take this opportunity to make a record of old Dad’s life. What a great way to show your love and respect. What a great gift to your kids and theirs.

William the Fifth, I am!

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First I want to thank the folks who commented on our most recent blog. Some great stories about your Dads! Very meaningful.

I’m pleased to write that, for the first time since I moved from Texas in 1987, I’m spending Fathers Day with my Dad. We’ve planned out his visit, and have a few hours booked to get a good start on his ArchivaLife. The cobbler’s children have no shoes? Well, my Dad has no ArchivaLife. Yet!

Dad and Linda are going to bring some photos, key dates, and travel records. We’ll start by entering his age, education, and career on the LifeLines. Then comes the fun stuff. We’ll talk about (and record!) his military service, their travels, friends, and hobbies. Gosh! I just can’t wait! I mean, my Dad and I have had a great relationship since we barely survived my rebellious teens. Thank God for that. And, we’ve had many meaningful conversations over the years. But, never have we discussed the facts, events, and timeline that made him who he is.

When I look at myself, I see a lot of my Dad in me. (My wife might say “You’re not kidding!”) Spending a few hours with him to complete his ArchivaLife will give me a fresh understanding of who he is, as well as part of what made me who I am. And, I’ll have a permanent record of his story, which my sister, my sons, and one day my grandkids will treasure.

Okay, Dad, if you’re reading this, we’ve got a pretty tall order to fill. I’m going to report back after Fathers Day, you know.

This video shows how it works!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/ArchivaLife

I’ve got to tell you about a very cool event last weekend.  I swear there was not a dry eye in the place – or in this case, in the oak grove.

So, I’ve got two boys, ages 8 & 9 ½.  They’re in an Indian Guide tribe through the local YMCA.  In fact, my older son, Will, and I started the mighty Santaluz Tribe and recruited a couple dozen dads and boys – mostly age 5.  We go camping several times per year, and teach the boys outdoor skills, adventure, and virtues, while fostering the father/son relationship.  In fact, the motto is “Pals forever with my Dad.”

Last weekend, the first group of boys who started as a bunch of little squeakers 4 years ago and are now pushing ten, had their “bouncing-out”.  As the founding chief, I prepared a really meaningful ceremony in which each of 8 bouncing boys, and 3 bouncing dads were graduated.  Each boy received a coon-skin cap, all decorated with feathers and beads – really a very cool hat!  And, just to break the seriousness, each dad was given a silly party hat.  As  the current Chief and I went down the line of shirtless boys & dads, we applied face/body paint to each,  mentioned a couple of attributes of each boy, and gave him a charge.  One boy’s attributes included a love of nature, and I charged him to be a keeper of nature and animals.  Another has a zest for life, and I charged him to spread that zest to others.  As you can imagine, with all the other boys, dads, and moms in the audience – and about 20 cameras trained on us – everyone got quite emotional when the founding chief spoke of their kid’s strengths, and charged him going forward.

As the emotion built up inside me, graduating each of these boys with whom I’d shared so  much over four years, I saved my Will for last.  Big mistake.  All the emotion welled  to the top, and I found myself unable to speak.  Did I mention about 20 cameras?  My son’s attributes included being very intuitive, and I charged him to use his intuitiveness to serve others, to make the world better wherever he goes.  He just looked at me, not understanding why old Dad’s face was contorted beyond recognition.

That’s more than I intended to write today.  It was just such a meaningful ceremony, and a fitting end to a very important 4 years.  What an incredible thing a father/son bond can be.  Every dad knows it, and every boy lives it in his own terms.  My other son, Henry, by the way, has one more year in Indian Guides.  He and I will both bounce out next May.

I have not been blessed with daughters, but my wife has incredible memories of her father before he was taken at an unfairly early time.  I know that the Father/Daughter bond is just as meaningful, and yet, I suspect very different.

What’s your favorite Father/Child story? I’d love to know how some of my readers connect with their Dad.  (No need to make your story as long as mine!) As we approach Father’s Day, I’d love to collect some of your stories.  And, to entice you a bit, I’ll be giving away an ArchivaLife Classic Edition to two respondents.  This will be by random drawing on Tuesday, June 15^th.

Tell me about your Dad.  Comment below to enter.

We’d love to continue the conversation with you!  Connect with us on Facebook by clicking the button.

I just returned from a trip to New York City, where I attended the Holiday Gift Show. I visited with lots of media, and interacted with loads of entreprenuers with a wide variety of gift ideas. Perhaps my favorite was the Money Savvy Piggy Bank, which helps children learn to collect their allowance for spending, savings, donation, and investment. My two sons each have one, and are learning great life lessons. It’s a wonderful gift for children. Find it at www.MSGen.com.

Among the media in attendance, there was a lot of enthusiasm in the ArchivaLife booth, as family and personal history-keeping is starting to become viral. People are learning how important their family history is. They want to tell their stories, and they want to know about their ancestors. To the extent that you lose stories two or three generations back, you can break that cycle by recording stories for yourself, your parents, and if you’re really blessed, your grandparents.

I feel honored to be playing my small part in capturing vital life stories. What are you doing to preserve your family’s story?

http://www.facebook.com/#!/ArchivaLife

Can you imagine? It’s already time for me to start thinking Christmas thoughts. I’m heading to New York in a couple of days for the annual Holiday Gift Show. This is a show in which various members of the media are looking for gifts to highlight in their magazines, or on their TV shows. You know “Best Gifts for This Year’s Holidays” sort of thing. Gosh, I’m not even through with Mother’s Day/Father’s Day yet – our other major “Holiday Season”.

Over the years/decades, I’ve given a lot of gifts, and it’s interesting that I can only remember a small handful of particularly meaningful gifts. The best gift I ever gave was to my Dad – a jacket from the Vanguard Drum & Bugle Corps, with whom he had been affiliated some 25 years before. He had fond memories of the corps, and that gift told him that his son remembers and cares.

What gifts have you given family members that really showed that you care deeply for them? I don’t mean a necktie or another pretty blouse. Those things are nice, sure. But, I’m talking about the things with special meaning which touched their soul, and told them you care about who they are. I’d love to hear about your best gifts, … given or received.
Visit our Facebook Fan page and tell us about your best gifts, or post it here!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/ArchivaLife

Let’s talk about what will make this a Mother’s Day to remember.

Flowers? Sure, that’s nice. Chocolate? Okay. A nice lunch? Of course. But, to make this a meaningful celebration of Mom, try focusing on memories. I would suggest that you give her the floor, ask her questions, pull out some stories about her personal history. Ask her what it was like to be a Mom 20, 30, 40, 50 years ago. What were her experiences? What were the challenges? How did it compare to being a Mom today? Get her talking, and don’t interupt. If she’s the quiet sort, convince her that you’re interested and ask lots of follow up questions. (Fake it if you have to!) Convince her that her story is worth telling, and that you and future generations want to know.

Showing Mom that you’re interested in her story will give her the respect she deserves, and will create a meaningful holiday. The moment – the experience – will be worth it for it’s own sake. If you’re really smart, you’ll think of a way to record it. But don’t detract from the moment. This is about Mom, … and showing that you care.

Visit our Facebook Fan page and share your favorite memory of your Mom – http://www.facebook.com/#!/ArchivaLife

It’s an impossibly large task, isn’t it? But, studies have shown that microcredit loans can raise families and entire communities out of poverty. I support such an organization called Foundation for Women. In fact, La Jolla Rotary – of which I’m president – recently funded an entire microcredit bank in Liberia, in Western Africa. Funds are loaned to impoverished women to help them start small businesses. They receive frequent training, and provide an income for their families. They have an astonishing 96% repayment rate, and they are required to save money, too. So the money we invest today, helps many women.

The reason I tell you this story is that to celebrate Mothers Day ArchivaLife will be continuing our support of Foundation for Women to the tune of $10 for every sale and $100 for every 100 new Facebook “likes”.

ArchivaLife is truly a special gift for the woman who means the most to you, and knowing that each purchase helps end world poverty for women makes it even more meaningful.

Help us end world poverty, will you?

I’m occasionally asked to speak to groups of people who are interested in personal history. I speak to people from many walks of life. One thing I find compelling is that today’s seniors are so very modest about their lives. Bear in mind, these are the people Tom Brokaw calls “The Greatest Generation.”

When I talk about the value of telling their life story, so often the reaction is “Oh my life isn’t interesting enough”. Well no one expects you to be a great adventurer or a renowned inventor. Your life is interesting because people know you, love you, and care about the experiences that made you who you are.

Think of your grandparents or great grandparents. They probably led fairly unremarkable lives to the standards of the day. But, wouldn’t you love to know the details of their stories? Be it exciting, mundane, or just different from your life, … you want to know.

Tell your story. If your parents are living, capture theirs. Don’t accept their objection that their lives aren’t intresting enough. THEIR story is worth telling, and YOU want to know!

I’ve been watching “The Pacific” on HBO with my family. What stories our “Greatest Generation” has to share. Through the series, from time-to-time a soldier will receive a letter from home, and read it to his buddies. Other times, he may read aloud a letter that he’s writing to his girl back home. The lesson to us is to write letters, … and save them. Sometimes these personal letters will shine a light on who we were and what we were experiencing, feeling, living.

One nice thing about the advent of email is that we’re all writing more than we have in the past. It’s easy. It’s expected. But, it’s temporary. It’s erased. Okay, I’m going to go against today’s conventional wisdom, and suggest you print-out some of the more meaningful exchanges. Keep a file someplace. A shoe box maybe. Keep those emails that tell who you are and what you’re experiencing.

And, dare I say, … Write an occasional letter by hand. Keep a copy in your file or shoe box. Ten, twenty, thirty years from now, you’ll be glad you did. And guess what? Your kids and grandkids will read every word!

My deepest respect and admiration go out to the heros of our country who have fought for our freedom and the American way of life. Thank you for your service.

Have you seen the new TV show on NBC, “Who do you think you are?” It’s very interesting, as they discover the family history of a different celebrity each week. So far, we’ve learned that Lisa Kudrow had family in a concentration camp, and Emmitt Smith descended from slaves. I keep thinking, “if only they had more information on all of those lives long since past.”
This has really strengthened my passion for personal history. Imagine if any of those people they discovered had kept a journal, or even had a book with a few details of their lives. It would be so incredibly meaningful for the generations who want to know where they came from, … and who they are. Give a little thought to the elders in your family – maybe your parents or grandparents, … or maybe you. Take a little time to capture the facts, events, and stories before they’re gone forever. Generations to follow will thank you for it.
Big thanks go to Ancestry.com for their sponsorship of the show! www.Ancestry.com
On another note, ArchivaLife is now on Facebook. Check out our page to see upcoming events, news updates, pictures, and more. www.facebook.com/ArchivaLife