History Comes In All Shapes And Sizes.

All you need to do is ask and listen...

When we hear the term History, most of us tend to think back to high school with a groan and remember all those chapters we needed to learn in order to pass. But there is more to history than those milestones recorded in schoolbooks the world over.

History comes in small parcels too. We've just had a long and lovely weekend with a family gathering of sorts. Not the whole family but enough to gather some more facts about us. At least for me. It just needed a bit of prodding from me but on the whole, tongues were loosened by the ample libation.

Listening to stories being remembered by my mum and uncles, stories of when they were teenagers, was great and it filled in a bit more detail in the big family picture. Nice. It must have been a happy time for them as they did reminisce about these happenings with laughter and a shared bond that only siblings possess. In fact, you had to be there to get the whole effect but the history of it was still worth it.

Locally, our village is steeped in history but it is not something that gets banded about. No, unless you ask, it will be a mystery to most.

Country life and living equates to living history books as the events have been passed down from generation to generation. Unfortunately even that gets a bit sketchy as the new generation isn't very interested in anything that doesn't move over by the flick of a finger.

Walking about the surrounds of our village I now and again espy a house with the date inscription dating back to the 18th century. Wow, for me that is amazing and I often ponder about how life was lived and enjoyed back then.

Of course our village goes back much further as in the village church there is a wooden beam with a date from the 15th century chiseled into it. But even that is not the start of it as the history of our Gemeinde ( District ) dates back to the 12th century.

During a conversation with a lady from our village, the history of her house came up and I was blown away when she connected some of the dots on the history map of Eisenberg. Once you see the common thread or let's say the line connected between the various places, it makes it that much more enjoyable to wander and wonder about our village.

It sounds so simple, but all one needs to do is ask. Ask about the other person and their family history.

Somehow in our modern world, The Me, Myself & What have I got world, there is no room or perhaps inclination to inquire about the other person and their life.

And sadly, that is how the most interesting little details of history are lost...

Biggi