A few years ago, my friend Mike called to tell me he was working on a syndicated television series. Each episode would spotlight a different Mississippi artist by telling their story. Mike said he wanted to do an episode featuring me. I was honored (and wondered if every other talented person in Mississippi had said no) and said, “sure, let me know how I can help.”
One way I could help was that my parents were going to be in town. So I hauled them down to his studio and Mike plopped them in front of a green screen and interviewed them.
The series never found the financial banking it needed (which is too bad — it was a great idea). I forgot about it.
Tomorrow, I’m going to go pick up the interviews from Mike. I will have 30 minutes of footage of my parents talking about me. This is before they got sick. This was during better times. I will have their voices and faces recorded. I can tell you that watching it will break loose a logjam of grief and pain.
I can’t think of a more powerful gift.