Tuesday, June 21, 2005

On Mission Journals and Such

I read Ned's post from his mission journal, and linked from there over to T&S where Rosalynde shared an excerpt from her mission journal.

My thought: "Uhmmm... Where is my mission journal, anyway?"

Truth be told, it's not that verbose. I know, I know, hard to believe, right? Mr. Yaks-A-Lot could fill a tome without breaking a sweat. I went through stages when I would write more things than at other times. The main reason was the lack of time, and the fact that when I write, I like to write. I want to set the stage, all of the juicy details, the nuance, the humor, etc. When handwriting a journal entry in 10 minutes, that couldn't happen, and so many things were never recorded.

So I found myself saying, "Okay, I'll finish this entry tomorrow." Then "tomorrow" I might get around to finishing today's entry, but then I had a whole NEW day to cover. It was just too much! What I needed was a good laptop, or a stenographer. Come to think of it, a stenographer would have been perfect.

I recall the last month of my mission standing on our patio with a handheld tape recorder dictating the details of my final days and weeks in the mission. Which, truth be told, where among the best--and most grueling. On this particular day I was home sick, so I took the time to record my thoughts for posterity.

Now, where's that tape?!

I'm sure it's somewhere in my mission archives. Someday I'll transcribe my mission journal, and then fill in the gaps here and there. I should have done this soon after returning home (kinda like I should have done my mission photo albums after getting home, when I still remembered names, etc.). But, what can I say, in my mind I know the amount of time it will require, and knowing I don't have that kind of time, I never get around to it.

I'm sure there's stuff in there that would make me scratch my head and say, "Huh? What was I talking about?" along with the "Please tell me I did not ever write something this ridiculous" entries.

My parents and a friend or two saved most of the letters I sent them, so I always have those to go through and reconstruct details if need be, though the letters home were a bit more vague, what with my folks being members of another church and all...

So now my plan is this: one day I'll write my abridged memoirs, including the life and times of Elder Eddie, which will be available in a compact 15-volume leatherbound set. Pre-order your copy today!

4 Comments:

At June 21, 2005 9:28 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am horrible at writing in my journal! Even though I am most certainly a "talker", which anyone who reads my blog knows! But I totally know what you mean, sitting down to write on paper just doens't happen.

That is exactly why I love blogging. My blog is my on-line journal. I print up my entries and put them in a binder for a hard copy. When I have entries I don't want published on the "world wide web", I still type them on the computer and print them up. That is just the way it works for me.

Elder Eddie, I think you should share some of your mission stories with us.

 
At June 22, 2005 12:19 PM, Blogger motherof8 said...

Put me down for a copy!

 
At June 22, 2005 12:32 PM, Blogger T said...

Do we get a discount for reading about it on your blog? Maybe 15% off... ^_^

 
At June 29, 2005 3:27 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Is it going to be available in paperback? I don't think I can afford leather - especially if it's 15 volumes! lol.

 

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