Nuance - I Speak Dragon

dragonstories2011 Posted: 06-17-2011 11:35 PM

rated by 0 users

There is a familiarity about them that is unmistakable.   Each is unique as the person who wrote them.  Family letters crowd my desk waiting their turn to be read.  These aren’t recent letters but have postmarks dating back 10, 20, even 60 years ago or longer.  All of them have been retrieved from stored boxes and various nooks and crannies in my house as well the houses of my relatives.  In the rush of life, the letters were read, set aside, then forgotten as new letters took their place.

               As family historian, I recognize the old letters for what they are:  captured moments of lived life pointing toward an unknown future.  Only with the distance of time can the tapestry of life become apparent.  The hopes and dreams of parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and friends evolve into the hopes and dreams of coming generations.  And along with this comes a sense of identity and an appreciation for what others did to arrive at a given point in time.

               And that point in time has arrived for me to sit down with Dragon Naturally Speaking and began the pleasant experience of transformation—many letters into one document.  From all the nooks and crannies it’s time to pull all the memories together for their journey into the future—for the next generation.  The entire process of reading each letter--taking the paper from the envelope--unfolding it--feeling the texture in my hands -- seeing the familiar longhand writing—all of this--begins the journey of the past, sometimes remembered, sometimes not.  And the best part is to read aloud, whether joy or sorrow or somewhere in-between, the thoughts of the person who wrote the letter as a participant in the drama that is life.

               At my side, patient and silent, Dragon Naturally Speaking captures my every word of every letter for the benefit of current and future family members.  It is indeed a pleasant experience of transformation—many letters into one document.