Sarah Gibbard Cook
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Cutting Room Floor

2/13/2017

4 Comments

 
For five hours this past Thursday, I was interviewed on camera for a documentary about the beginnings of Rotary’s commitment to eradicate polio. It’s comforting to know that most of that footage will end up on the cutting room floor.

Documentary film makers, historians, and journalists must always pick and choose. The late Professor Geoff Blodgett taught us Oberlin history seminar students, “The facts never speak for themselves.” No matter how objective you try to be, you have to decide what to include and how to arrange it.

In everyday life, too, there isn’t room for everything. I like the precept “Take what you like and leave the rest.” Without advocating denial, I’d rather give my time and attention to what brings joy, growth, connection, or meaning. The rest can go on the cutting room floor.
4 Comments
Patty
2/13/2017 08:18:53 am

I love this, Sarah, and it comes at an appropriate time for me. Thanks!

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Sarah link
2/13/2017 09:27:25 am

Thank you, Patty. Are you finding life getting over-filled and in need of some thoughtful edits?

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Rhonda Peterson
2/13/2017 06:21:50 pm

I'm impressed that the documentarians found and interviewed you as an important source of this history. Good for them!

I agree with your approach about keeping the memories that are significant and bring you joy. Sometimes when I can't remember something, I think of how burdensome it would be remember absolutely everything! ;-)

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Sarah link
2/13/2017 06:59:06 pm

Rhonda, I sometimes think a photographic memory would be nice. But imagine trying to sort through it all to find the memory you're looking for! When I was learning to do historical research, an important skill was using reference tools to locate obscure facts and sources. Now, with so much on the Internet, a larger part of the training must be how to cull out credible nuggets among a super-abundance of facts and pseudo-facts.

As for the documentary, they found me because I researched and wrote the book they're basing it on (work-for-hire for Rotary). The fact that I was on the Rotary staff for most of their target period, and could speak from personal experience, emerged after they first approached me in my capacity as author.

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    I'm a historian who writes novels and literary nonfiction. My home base is Madison, Wisconsin. 

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