I received a wonderful surprise last week, a completely transcribed version of my grandfather’s memoirs in hard copy and as a computer file. I knew that someone was working on it, but I wasn’t sure of the exact details. I’d been semi-dreading having to transcribe the 304 page memoir myself. Imagine my relief upon receiving a 500+ page complete transcript of the very document I was working on.
My thanks go to:
- Peggy Arnold, who did the actual transcription.
- Attorney Dallas Albritton, my grandfather’s long-time friend and the one who encouraged my grandfather to write the memoir and who commissioned the transcription once the memoir was complete.
- Darell Dyal, another friend of my grandfather who set up the meeting where I received the transcript.
- My aunt, Liberty Galloway, who made sure I was present at the meeting and who is making sure that this project continues.
The plan from here is for me to edit the transcript and see what it will take to have it published as a book. As I work, I’ll be publishing excerpts here on this website to promote the project.
I’m also working with my cousin Brandy to produce a movie based on the World War II portion of the memoir. News on that project will also continue to appear on this site.
We’re really excited about this development. It moves the timeline for our project ahead by years. Peggy did the hard part for us, now we can move on to the next step of our projects.
Jocelyn Sibayan Lontok says
Awesome surprise I know that Tay is very happy with this project. Since he stopped driving I would pick him up to go to Sunday Mass and he would relate all his stories, his aspirations his dreams and what had happened to him. He believes that when we are born our life was already designed, it depends on us if we listen to God’s will for us.
He often would mention the times when he would write or dictate the story of his life while working as a security guard. He is so humble, he is not ashamed that he is a lawyer, a major in the army but in his old age due to need still worked.
He would say, where can you find a job that pays you to write the story of your life. I believe that it is all in your attitude, whatever happens to your life, to look at the positive and take advantage of the situation no matter how bad it might seem in the present.