Thank you, @myjob! Yes, if our parents and grandparents had kept a written memoir of what their lives were like, and who was in their lives, what a treasure we'd have -- after a while, we who heard the stories die off, and most of the stories die with us. UNLESS WE WROTE THEM DOWN.

I actually did write a novel- 500 pages, finished in 1999; another book in 2008; a novella for NaNoWrimo, then half of one for March Madness. I workshopped the first two (no comment!). I wrote short stories.

Thank you for the kind words!