Discovering Your Past

(The following is a Hotweir rerun. It originally posted under the title "Speaking of Memoir" on July 10th and was republished on the Berkeley OLLI blog July 15th. We are bringing it back by popular demand.)

So you want to investigate your own life. How to begin?

First you should access and organize your own personal records. These are going to be extremely valuable assets in your research. And it's here that packrats have an inherent advantage, although many of them may need help organizing their stuff.

Grade-school report cards, college financial aid letters, tax returns, bank statements, tax bills, car maintenance records, even simple receipts can tell a story. When was it that you had that tire blowout on the freeway exactly? You remember the exit sign but which tow company came to help, with that nice man who turned out to know your cousin?

And, yes, that's how you found out why your uncle had to leave town so suddenly back when you were a kid.

Records tell stories, you just have to allow them to speak.

An even more powerful treasure trove of your past lies in the letters, journals, photos, tapes and videos you've stuffed in an old box in the garage somewhere. Fifty times you almost threw them away; fifty times you didn't.

Now you're seriously contemplating your history they are suddenly fifty times more valuable than they were yesterday.

Most of the letters were addressed to you from someone else among your family members, friends, or associates. But you also have of your own letters, like those you wrote overseas that your sister saved for you.

Pay attention to the language usage in these letters. Look at the stamps and the postmarks. Note the dates. In stories, certain details matter.

And there is your college application essay, your first job application cover letter, an angry Letter to the Editor of the local newspaper. Your own writing is always a window into your prior self -- how you presented yourself to the world back then, and how you used language to express your feelings.

As you pore through this mass of material, think as if you are conducting a forensic analysis, as if your former self were somebody alien to you now. The reason I say this is you need to try and be as objective about yourself as possible in this process.

It should be as if you are writing a biography of another person.

Photographic evidence is particularly revealing. Note the expressions, the body language, who stands next to whom, what's in the background, which smiles are natural and which are forced. Who snapped that photo.

Every picture tells not one but many stories. Much of what you are seeking can be glimpsed through the lens of cameras past but you have to be able to see it.

Beyond physical records and let's be frank here, most of us don't have many, you have a great tool in your computer. Your grandmother didn't have that when she wrote down her memories. So take advantage of your advantage. More and more digitized history is available, as various efforts to catalogue the past and bring it online proceed here and there.

And of course there is original web content itself. Stories about you that appeared here and there. More photos. More citations. Look up your name at academia.edu. You might be surprised how many scholars have cited your work. 

For the past 25 years or so, there's the Wayback Machine hosted by the non-profit Internet Archive. You can familiarize yourself with how to use it or there are articles to help guide you. <https://gijn.org/2021/05/05/tips-for-using-the-internet-archives-wayback-machine-in-your-next-investigation/> I just unearthed an old article for a friend that brought back memories for her.

While there is the frustration of dead links <https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2021/06/the-internet-is-a-collective-hallucination/619320/> you can sometimes find workarounds for that issue. For instance, try locating the author of any article you seek -- authors tend to maintain their own clip files apart from the web.

And when researching family history, please don't overlook obituaries. Many details of the lives of even people you knew well only appear in print at the end of their stories.

For deeper forensic analyses, you want to probe legal files, including criminal and civil cases, divorce judgements, adoption papers and bankruptcy filings. Property records from the assessor and recorders offices are public records you can obtain.

If this all sounds scary it isn't. Just give it a try. The clerks in most agency offices prove extremely helpful.

Do not overlook the Freedom of Information Act, which allows you to find out what data government agencies collected and maintained about you. You may think only of intelligence agencies like the FBI and CIA but most FOIA files are far more mundane, but perhaps more relevant to what you need to know.

Most states have some sort of sunshine laws; in California it's known as the California Public Records Act. There are non-profit organizations that can help you draft letters of inquiry and interpret the results when the agency in question sends you the records you requested.

But all of this record-seeking is only one aspect of investigating your life, or what I call Memoir Journalism. It is other people who hold the majority of the information you with to know locked away in their memories.

To help them unlock those memories, you need to perfect your interviewing techniques. Fortunately there are many available resources to help you with this, from YouTube videos to journalism classes or  some friendly retired reporter, lawyer, investigator, insurance adjuster, historian or homicide inspector.

Many people know how to obtain information through conversation.

And conversations can be the fun part of all this. Like fossil fuels stored in the rocks beneath our feet, the memories locked in the brains of others need to be mined and released.

Just try not to be a reckless brain surgeon and try not to pollute the planet in the process.

The key to all of this, at the end, is to think like an investigator.

***

HEADLINES:

* Thousands rally in rainy Glasgow for COP26 climate action (Reuters)

* Ice on the edge of survival: Warming is changing the Arctic (AP)

* What teenagers talk about when they talk about race (WP)

* Is This the Worst Place to Be Poor and Charged with a Federal Crime? --The Southern District of Georgia does remarkably little to provide for indigent defendants. (New Yorker)

* COP26: Greta Thunberg tells protest that COP26 has been a 'failure' (BBC)

* Job Gains Offer a Brighter Picture of the U.S. Economy (NYT)

* Drought is forcing farmers in Colorado to make tough choices (NPR)

* Justice Department files lawsuit against Texas’s new voting restrictions (WP)

* What is the Metaverse? The Future Vision for the Internet (WSJ)

* We Already Live in Facebook’s Metaverse (New Yorker)

* Israel Moves to Silence the Stalwarts of Palestinian Civil Society -- These human rights activists are not terrorists. (NYT)

* Eternals, explained: Who they are and how they fit into the Marvel universe (WP)

* Japan approves antibody cocktail for prevention (NHK)

* An Indigenous chef is putting her heritage on the menu with landmark restaurant -- Bison blueberry sausage, venison meatballs and lots of squash. (NPR)

* Trapped in a Pandemic Funk: Millions of Americans Can’t Shake a Gloomy Outlook (NYT)

* VIDEO: Greta Thunberg Calls U.N. Climate Summit a ‘P.R. Event’ (AP)

* Netflix just got into video games. It’s already playing catch-up with ‘Squid Game’ fans. (WP)

* Respectful Drivers Pull Over To Side Of Road To Let Pizza Delivery Guy Through (The Onion)

***

"Who Are You?"

Pete Townshend, The Who

Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?


I woke up in a Soho doorway
A policeman knew my name
He said "You can go sleep at home tonight
If you can get up and walk away"
I staggered back to the underground
And the breeze blew back my hair
I remember throwing punches around
And preaching from my chair

Just Neighbors

At precisely 9:46 pm on Thursday night, I was sitting in the living room sorting through news reports when I felt a sudden jolt, as if  large object had suddenly hit the outside of the house. 

I looked outside but saw nothing. But soon the messages started flowing in on social media, Next-door and Twitter:

"Sonic boom?"

"Did anyone else feel that?"

"My neighbors just slammed their door really loud!"

Within minutes, the messages focused in on the reality:

"Earthquake?"

"What's that rumble?"

"EARTHQUAKE!"

Whatever else you can say about how social media affects our lives for better or worse, there is no question that during natural disasters and extreme weather events, such services have become. vital part of the communication system

You used to have to cal the local police station or a media outlet at such times. But they were ill-prepared in most cases to respond with accurate information.

Here in earthquake country, we have the hyper-vigilant USGS.gov, which quickly confirmed it was a minor shaker, a 2.7 centered around nearby Kensington. Too small to cause damage, or generate perceptible aftershocks except in the immediate area of the epicenter.

But the experience was a reminder that during natural disasters, neighbors don't divide up by political party, race, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, wealth, religion or any other divisive category.

We all just at least for a moment become what we truly are -- neighbors.

***

The San Francisco Chronicle is out with a relatively dispassionate look at the actual crime charging rates during embattled D.A. Chesa Boudin's first two years in office. Those who say that minor street crimes like car break-ins are up can find evidence this is true. Those who say Boudin has lived up to his promise to prosecute serious crimes like rape, narcotics dealing and willful homicide have evidence to say that is true.

What Boudin has also done is charge a SF cop with voluntary manslaughter in the 2017 shooting of a young black man -- an unprecedented act.

What the statistics do not show is any reason why there is such a major push for Boudin to be recalled. That would require some serious investigative reporting, which is rare these days in San Francisco. The major question is where is all the "dark money" pushing his recall coming from?

***

Finally, there is the big news we've all been waiting for. After am investigation, the FBI believes the multiple sightings of "jetpack man" above L.A. may in fact have been balloons. This apparently solves one of the enduring mysteries of the pandemic era. 

***

HEADLINES:

* Earth’s lakes are warming at a feverish pace, with the Great Lakes leading the way (WP)

* U.S. Sets Jan. 4 Vaccination Deadline for Big Private Employers (NYT)

* This tribe helped the Pilgrims survive for their first Thanksgiving. They still regret it 400 years later.-- Long marginalized and misrepresented in U.S. history, the Wampanoags are bracing for the 400th anniversary of the first Pilgrim Thanksgiving in 1621. (WP)

* Recognizing the impact that climate campaigners have had on raising public understanding of climate change, world leaders have praised the influence of youth activists Vanessa Nakate of Uganda and Greta Thunberg of Sweden in the run-up to the Glasgow summit. The two are expected to join other students in a protest by the Fridays for Future movement, not far from where activists have towed a giant iceberg from Greenland to Glasgow’s River Clyde.  (Reuters)

* VIDEO: Europe Faces ‘Real Threat’ of Virus Resurgence, W.H.O. Official Says (Reuters)

* VIDEO: Hawaii Eases Covid Restrictions (AP)

* A trial of Pfizer's experimental antiviral pill for COVID-19 has been stopped early after the drug was shown to cut by 89% the chances of hospitalization or death for adults at risk of developing severe disease. Pfizer said it plans to submit interim trial results for its pill to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as part of the emergency use application it opened in October. (Reuters)

* High-risk Covid gene more common in South Asians -- University of Oxford scientists have uncovered a gene that doubles the risk of lung failure and death from Covid. They say 60% of people from South Asian backgrounds and 15% of people of European ancestry carry the high-risk version of the gene. (BBC)

* Democrats are working on legislation to give cash payments to parents and to slash child care costs, while Republicans are hoping that rage at public schools will outweigh any material benefit Democrats provide. The 2022 midterm elections will be a big test of whether improving people's lives is effective politics. [HuffPost]

* Indictment charges Steele dossier’s main source with lying to investigators (WP)

* Timeline of the coup: How Trump tried to weaponize the Justice Department to overturn the 2020 election (CNN)

* A Nuclear-Powered Shower? Russia Tests a Climate Innovation. -- A remote Siberian town now has its own miniature nuclear plant as a Russian state company tests a new model for residential heating. Some see it as a tool to minimize climate change. (NYT)

* Nine anti-government factions will form an alliance to push for a political transition in Ethiopia, two of the groups said, piling more pressure on Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Rebellious forces from the Tigray region have pushed to within a day's drive of the capital Addis Ababa and are threatening to march on the city of 5 million people. (Reuters)

* Manhattan district attorney convenes new grand jury in Trump Organization case to weigh potential charges (WP)

* What never-before-seen crime data shows about Chesa Boudin’s decisions in office. (SFC)

* Over 40 nations pledge to phase out coal power (NHK)

* U.S. Adds 531,000 Jobs as Labor Market Rebounds (WSJ)

* By lifting some of Trump’s European tariffs, Biden prepares for competition against China (WP)

* A Love Letter to Kabul (BBC)

* A rebel, a bureaucrat: The women who stayed in Afghanistan (AP)

* The social media giant Meta is discussing opening retail stores that will eventually span the world. (Cal Today)

* Voting technology firm sues Newsmax, One America News, alleging defamation (WP)

* Ancient History Shows How We Can Create a More Equal World -- New research on humanity's deep past holds lessons for the future. (NYT)

* Investigators looking into a series of sightings of a mysterious "jetpack man" flying over Los Angeles say they may in fact have been balloons. -- The FBI launched an investigation after several pilots reported spotting "a guy in a jetpack" at 3,000ft (915m) above the city's LAX airport last year. But now officials say the pilots may have seen inflatables. (BBC)

* WHO: Europe, Central Asia at epicenter of pandemic (NHK)

* Global Study Shows San Francisco is Among Most Attractive Remote Work Destinations (WorkMotion)

* Woman Always Starts Texts With ‘Hey’ So Recipient Knows She Talking To Them (The Onion)

***

The Blues Man

Sung by George Jones and Dolly Parton

Written by Hank Williams Jr.

I'm just a singer, a natural born guitar ringer
Kind of a clinger to sad old songs
I'm not a walk-behinder, I'm a new note finder
But my name's a reminder of a blues man that's already gone

So I started drinkin', took some things that messed up my thinkin'
I was sure sinkin' when she came along
I was alone in the spot light, not too much left in sight
She changed all that one night when she sang me this song

Hey baby, I love you, hey baby, I need you
Hey baby, you don't have to prove to me you're some kind of macho man
You've wasted so much of your life runnin' through the dark nights
Let me shine a little love light down on you, blues man

I got sick from speedin' all the things they said I was needing
If I was to keep on pleasing all of my fans
I got cuffed on dirt roads, I got sued over no shows
She came and took all that old load down off of this blues man

And I sang hey baby, I love you too, hey baby, I need you too
Hey baby, I do get tired of this traveling band, I know you do get tired

I'm up in my years now, nights would be so cold now
If you hadn't stuck it out with this blues man
Oh, I'm up in my years now, nights would be oh so cold now
If she hadn't hung around with this blues man

Triumph of the Extremes

One way to understand the social and political effects of the pandemic is that it has acted to push those who survived it to extremes. We all know that the political system was already broken into absurdly warring factions well before Covid-19 came on the scene.

But the long period of fear of the unknown further fractured society in ways that will not now be easily mended.

The anger over vaccine mandates is a symptom of the new extremism. There appears to be very little ground for a cautious approach to mandates; you have to be either pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine in the view of many people.

As a pro-vaccine person, I at times have fallen victim to this myself in the past, branding the anti-vaxxers as would-be murderers, etc., but upon reflection, I think that is an example of extremist thinking.

People have many legitimate concerns, and in a democratic society, those reservations have to be respected. If the approval process is transparent, the testing process thorough and the data verifiable, the policies apolitical, and the official communication process honest, most of those reservations will melt away with time.

Democracy is messy; we have to give it time. And when we do, we don't have to resort to what might be viewed as authoritarian tactics to achieve public health goals.

That is true of all other burning political questions as well.

The saddest victim of the current political climate is reasonable, respectful dialogue. The extreme voices are everywhere; they have us surrounded.

There was a brief moment when the threat of a common enemy in the coronavirus might have united us. There was a further opportunity to then unite as a species against climate change.

Both moments have now passed. And we can now see the impending wreckage all around us.

***

Our past follows us around like a shadow; there are times to celebrate it, regret it, correct it or relive it. But parts of the past often come after you (debtors) while you may rarely hear from those who owe you debts. 

You have to go after them.

The State of California holds unclaimed funds that are owed by companies like PGE to residents from years past. There's a database where you enter your name to see if you are one of those owed money.

Normally I don't look into such things but my daughter convinced me to look and -- surprise -- I am due an old debt from the utility for roughly $116. What surprises me is that neither the state or PGE could track me down.

Maybe this particular debt is considered trivial, but it's hardly investigative reporting to track residents who vote, pays their bills and taxes, and file their new mailing addresses over the years. Believe me, the state can do it if you owe them!

If you happen to be a resident of California, or were, the state website to check is: https://www.sco.ca.gov/upd_msg.html .

***

THE HEADLINES:

* Earth has 11 years to cut emissions to avoid dire climate scenarios, a report says (NPR)

* ISIS Poses a Growing Threat to New Taliban Government in Afghanistan (NYT)

* "If You Don't Have Money, You Have Sisters": Some Afghan Men Use Taliban Rule to Settle Scores (WSJ)

* Trump campaign payments for ‘command centers’ at D.C. hotels could undercut executive privilege claim in Jan. 6 investigation (WP)

* Conservative lawmakers in Ohio introduced an abortion restriction that goes even further than the highly controversial measure from Texas. The law aims to ban abortions at any stage of pregnancy. It also includes a bounty to anyone who successfully sues someone aiding or abetting a person seeking an abortion. [HuffPost]

* Covid-19 Lockdowns Ripple Across China (WSJ)

* The U.N. says climate impacts are getting worse faster than the world is adapting (NPR)

* Justices’ Questions Suggest New York Gun Control Law Is Unlikely to Survive (NYT)

* Unemployment claims drop to 269,000, another pandemic low (AP)

* Hertz Will Have to Wait for Teslas, Just Like Other Buyers (WSJ)

* Climate Visionaries: He’s the youngest Chief in his First Nation’s history. Now he’s leading their fight against climate change. (WP)

* Tribal nations have lost 99 percent of their historical territory. Where they live now is more vulnerable to climate threats. (Cal Today)

* Is it green, or forever toxic? Nuclear rift at climate talks (AP)

* Earlier this week, countries including the United States revealed plans to crack down on emissions of the methane, the second-biggest cause of climate change after CO2 emissions. More than 100 countries pledged to slash methane emissions 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels. (Reuters)

* The Amorphophallus titanum plant is blooming at the San Diego Botanic Garden, releasing its characteristic scent of rotting flesh. (AP)

* An international rights watchdog named El Salvador the most unsafe country for women in Latin America and the Caribbean in a new report. Holding aloft crosses bearing the names of murdered women, hundreds of people marched in Mexico's capital to protest violence against women amidst a steady nationwide increase in femicides. (Reuters)

* A federal investigation into PG&E’s criminal liability in the Dixie Fire could test the state’s safety net for its power providers. (SFC)

* Europe’s hottest summer on record would have been ‘almost impossible’ without human-induced climate change. Scientists say it could recur every three years. (WP)

* Britain became the first country in the world to approve a potentially game-changing COVID-19 antiviral pill jointly developed by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, in a boost to the fight against the pandemic. (Reuters)

* Buster Posey plans to retire, career with Giants is over (SFC)

* Buster Posey is ‘the most important Giant since Willie Mays’ (SFC)

* From BTS to ‘Squid Game’: How South Korea Became a Cultural Juggernaut (NYT)

* The biggest whales can eat the equivalent of 80,000 Big Macs in one day (NPR)

* Amazon Encourages Drivers To Deliver Packages Faster By Strapping Cinder Block To Truck’s Accelerator (The Onion)

***

"Just Breathe"

Sung by Willie Nelson

Written by Eddie Vedder

Yes, I understand that every life must end, aw-huh,
As we sit alone, I know someday we must go, aw-huh,
Oh I'm a lucky man, to count on both hands
The ones I love,

Some folks just have one,
Yeah, others, they've got none, huh-uh

Stay with me,
Let's just breathe.

Practiced are my sins,
Never gonna let me win, aw-huh,
Under everything, just another human being, aw-huh,
Yeah, I don't wanna hurt her, there's so much in this world
To make me believe.

Stay with me,
You're all I see.

Did I say that I need you?
Did I say that I want you?
Oh, if I didn't I'm a fool you see,
No one knows this more than me.
As I come clean.

I wonder everyday
As I look upon your face, aw-huh,
Everything you gave
And nothing you would take, aw huh
Nothing you would take
Everything you gave

Did I say that I need you?
Oh, did I say that I want you?
Or if I didn't I'm a fool you see,
No one knows this more than me.
As I come clean, ah

Nothing you would take,
Everything you gave.
Love you till I die,
Meet you on the other side.