“What a Wonderful Life,” 14″x14,” Watercolor by Donna Lyons © 2025
“Who will tell?”
By Marty Coffin Evans © 2018
Several years ago, we attended the hit musical “Hamilton” at the Buell Theater in Denver. Loaded with history lessons involving many famous persons from our country’s founding days, a concluding comment caught my interest.
As the musical concludes, Hamilton’s wife sings a number which asks, “Who will tell our story?” Indeed, what legacy do we leave? Who will remember what we did in our lives, let alone write about us?
Memoir writing has become an encouraged exercise for many. Who better to tell our story than ourselves? Then again, who might be interested in what we did, accomplished, or not in our lives.
In one of my writing groups, the Low Writers, our most senior member periodically pulls out old notebooks and shares her writings. “How old were you when you wrote that?” we typically ask.
Sometimes the answer is in her early teen years. Other times, it might be writings from her collegiate times in Colorado as she wrote weekly to her parents in Indiana. What a treasure of stories from that young coed.
“Have you shared those with your family?” we also ask. Even with an affirmative answer she sadly reflects they don’t seem very interested in what she wrote about during her early years. We choose to believe her family members will greatly appreciate having these writings at some point in their own lives.
This “who will tell” question does become thought provoking. Family members often share their history as they tell stories of times past. On occasion, these are written down for others to remember. Capturing personal stories while that family member still lives is important.
We’ve heard the expression that we all have a story. We’ve heard too about someone passing away with their story still with them or untold. Both are true.
Have you told or written your story yet? I guess I better get busy on writing mine!
January 2025