Some reasons for having your own website:
It's a way to reconnect.
Our stories involve the lives of many others, and often we interact for a short time. Later---sometimes a lot later---we realize and cherish the value of these brief encounters
and begin to understand that our lives would have been different without them. Many
would be surprised to find themselves listed as cast members in my life's program. I have hoped
that someone I’ve lost touch with will some day "google" his or her own name---or the name of a friend or relative---and find my website and send me
an email. A number of people have actually done that, and that alone has made this effort worthwhile. If you're skeptical,
try the following experiments:
- Kenneth Genoni, a very successful lawyer who specialized in patent litigation, was with the firm of Ropes and Gray and practiced in N.Y.C. and Washington D.C. until his recent retirement. Google Ken Genoni.
- James (Jimmy) Salbego was a well-known drummer and teacher of drums in the Joliet, IL, area. Sadly, Mr. Salbego died recently from a sudden heart attack. Google Jimmy Salbego.
- Don Schmidt was the longest tenured member of the Ft. Wayne, IN, city council until he was defeated by 12 votes in Nov. 2008. Schmidt, who served for 36 years, also was also an accomplished tennis player and a trumpeter. Google trumpeter Don Schmidt.
- In the 1950s Joliet's Loe Lyons was one of the most talented musicians in the midwest. He had studied organ under Ralph Waldo Emerson in Chicago. Joe Lyons was also my organ teacher. Google organist Joe Lyons.
Everyone has a story.
A website gives you a great way to tell your story, and it’s fun to relive
the past as you put your history into words and locate pictures and documents
from long ago. Along the way you begin to understand more about how you became what you are today. Here are some
links to places in this website that describe events that continue to shape my life. This website helped
bring them into focus.
- Sometimes we try to grow up too fast. I was able to take some time and it paid off.
- Who hasn't been frustrated by an arbitrary decision by a person in authority? I learned something important from this episode.
- New situations are uncomfortable in the beginning. Often, if you can stick it out, you'll be glad you did. Twenty months in Califonia taught me a lot.
- When I get what I think is a good idea and others throw cold water it, I often quietly investigate the idea further before giving up. Here is an example that taught me that.
It's a way to get your audio and visual treasures organized.
If you have pictures, audio tapes and/or videos made at various times in your life,
a website gives you a way of organizing and making them available for viewing or listening
at the click of a mouse. Available on your website, they can be accessed from
almost anywhere these days. Hook up a large screen to your laptop, and you're ready for
a multimedia show of pictures and video clips that you access at will.
It's for a great-grandchild to read seventy years from now.
My great-grandfather Mark Sandiford was born in Bury, England, in 1837 and came to America in 1867. With him were his wife and first two children,
all their household belongings, and two or three of his brothers. The rest of the family of 11 children and parents stayed in England. A journal
describing the events of his life would be a marvelous thing to read. Now, about making sure that the contents of the website one creates are still accessible 70 years from now . . . hmmm.
As of August 1, 2009, this site is about 80% complete.