Listening to Family Can Be Most Priceless Gift of All
Nov. 28, 2009— -- It's a gift from one generation to another: a family conversation captured on audiotape to live forever.
At her home in Vorhees, N.J., 66-year-old Jacqueline Poppalardo "interviewed" her granddaughter, Gabrielle Barrila, 17. They talked about "Nana," Poppalardo's mother, and her and Barilla's memories of her.
"There wasn't a time with her when I wasn't happy," Barrila said remembering her great-grandmother.
Two years ago, Poppalardo did the same thing with her mother, Marie. She recorded a series of conversations as part of the the StoryCorps project.
For the past six years, StoryCorps has been helping people share and record their personal stories. Last year, the group declared the day after Thanksgiving a "National Day of Listening." Since families are typically together over the holidays, the organization encourages people to listen to each other, recording conversations with loved ones to treasure.
"I said, 'Mom, I want to interview you. I think you've had a very interesting life,'" Poppalardo remembered.
Her mother talked about her childhood, her eight decades working as a beautician and her long marriage. Her memories, reflections and wisdom were captured on an audio tape. Not long after their conversation was recorded, Poppalardo's mother passed away at age 88. But she lives today on the tape they made together.
"What kind of advice would you give to younger people today?" Poppalardo asked her mother on the recording. "Education. Education," Marie Poppalardo answered earnestly.
"I like hearing her voice on the tape because it just kind of brings her touch back to me. She was so delicate and strong at the same time," Jacqueline Poppalardo said.
"And I treated everybody fair and square. I never cheated anybody," Marie Poppalardo said of her job in the beauty salon during one of the recorded story sessions. "I might have overcharged them," she said with a laugh.
