| Youth Participant Sam Mullinax |
Sam at Five |
| My earliest memories are of stories. Each night at bedtime, my dad and I created another episode of “The Adventures of Sammy and Gus the Yellow Dog.” In our stories, we swam without floaties, flew our rocket ship to far away planets, and heroically triumphed over the bad guys. From tribal legends to web logs, story-telling has been central to the creation of culture and community. |  |
 |
|
| As a participant in the cross-generational Legacies Project, I have expanded my perspectives and gained a real appreciation of the value of discourse between generations. The colorful life stories of my elder-partner are inspiring examples of human perseverance. They also provided me with an invaluable opportunity to view events that have shaped our world from the perspective of a man whose family had come to the United States from Europe under very difficult circumstances, and then after surviving his own childhood struggles personally witnessed World War II, and the erosion of our cultural values, to go on to become a successful businessman and community leader. | |
|
|
| The Legacies Project is important as a literary endeavor as well as a personal source of inspiration. The project has honed my communication skills in addition to providing me with a valuable opportunity to interact with a local senior citizen. The success of this project is of tremendous importance to me. | |
