The Power of Voices

This will be short. The Ringwood Family Tree has roots. Over the years a structure and pattern has emerged. Participation is fun and yet, not necessary. I hope that it has a long life.

The months after Mom’s death were a time to process. I am sure we all have memories of stand-out moments. Unpuzzling Mom’s sweet little house was a unique and important experience. It provided a chance to look back - sometimes heartbreaking and at other times, hilarious! (Tom is that dust in your eyes? Patty, wash your mouth out with soap!)

RFT is an offshoot of that time together. We will never cluster like that again, in a home that smelled like Mom and carried a lifetime of memories. RFT is a place we currently cluster.

At the start, I didn’t have a vision other than a repository of some family stuff. The context emerged naturally. Covid introduced us all to ZOOM. (Future Ringwood might laugh at this with the evolution of technology.) Zoom led to video blogs. What a ball!

Oh the power of the human voice! I treasure the answering machine recording of Mom- Mom's Voice - Very End. To use your voice is one thing, to hear a voice is quite another! I don’t’ even have the words for that!

Recently I listened to a “This American Life “episode called Call Your Parents. I just love this podcast. Anyway - Ira Glass, the host returns to old phone call recordings of his parents. He speaks to the power of the audio experiences. “… when you hear somebody’s voice, it is so much more powerful … it’s like she’s alive talking to me again. Pictures cannot do that.” This confirms my feeling that our Zoom recordings are a powerful piece to this journey.

Do you have an ideas for other ZOOM blogs? Do you have any recording that you would like saved to RFT. / Sibling Pages? You know the drill … reach out.

-T (March 22,2026)