Lucy Milne
Lucy Milne (Dec 28, 1911 - Jun 2, 2009) was my aunt; she was my dad's sister. But she mothered him, as well, because their mother died in 1931 when my dad, Richard Andrews (commonly known as Dick), was not quite three years old. There were 17 years between Lucy and Dick/Richard. Lucy was born in 1911 in Edmonton, Alberta. Dad was born in 1928 in Trail, British Columbia.
The two videos, recorded in 2008, are of conversation between Lucy, Isabelle Blair (Lucy's daughter) and myself. The subject of the conversation is Lucy's life and the family.
Dad's and Isabelle's family photos helped a lot, concerning family history, both during and after the conversation with Lucy and Isabelle. The videos contain about 200 family photos. I wish I'd done this with my mom and dad before they passed away. Talking about family history over family photos is a good way to capture parts of that history, and you can incorporate the photos into the video.
A couple of times, Lucy says "It's a good life, if you don't weaken". And that she had, finally, weakened. Long after putting the videos together, I came across a 2002 song by the Canadian rock band The Tragically Hip titled "It's a Good Life If You Don't Weaken". It seemed unlikely that Lucy would have come upon the sentence that way, so I googled it. Apparently, it's the title of a famous 1996 Canadian graphic novel. But it's equally unlikely that Lucy would have come upon the sentence this way. She read books, but I doubt that she was reading graphic novels in her nineties. The google article mentions that
"After the cartoonist Gene Byrnes drew the panel It's a Great Life If You Don't Weaken, which was syndicated by the New York Evening Telegram from 1915 to 1919, the phrase became a rallying cry for American soldiers during World War I."
That has more resonance with Lucy's life and culture. The sentiment has, apparently, found its way through the cultures of the United States and Canada throughout the lifetime of Lucy, and it is obviously one that she gave some thought to, lying in her bed.
Here's to Lucy. She was a good woman and kept the family together. May she be happily trout fishing in the great beyond with her husband Jim and those in the family who preceeded her. And thanks to Isabelle for her help with the photos and history.
