I was covering a murder trial and the man on the stand was being grilled by the prosecutor about what he was doing on a certain date quite some time ago.
The man got visibly frustrated and, raising his voice, said: “How am I supposed to remember all this? It’s not like I keep a diary!”
The prosecutor replied: “Well, if you did, chances are you would not even be here today.”
It was 76 years ago this week that a 13-year-old girl in Amsterdam named Anne Frank got a diary for her birthday.
In it, she told the story of how she and her family hid from the Nazis for two years until they were found and sent to concentration camps.
You know that story, but how much does your family know about your story and the challenges you faced growing up?
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Are there at least a few stories you could put in writing so that generations from now, they will know who you were?
Did you ever have to claw your way back from unemployment? Did you spend time in the military? Was there someone who made a difference in your life?
Watch below: Shocking revelations from the Battle of Passchendaele in lost war diaries
I know there is a story about your life that could make a difference in someone else’s life.
You don’t have to be Anne Frank, to be frank.
Remember the words of singer Randy Travis, in the song Three Wooden Crosses, who reminded us, “It’s not what you take when you leave the world behind you, it’s what you leave behind you when you go.”
Let me know what you think about that.
Bob Layton is the news manager of the Corus Edmonton group of radio stations.
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