Published Sept. 7, 2008 in the Hibbing
Daily Tribune
Questions spawn stories, stories are life
By Aaron J. Brown
Right now there’s a big silver trailer parked outside the studios of
KAXE, near the library, on the Mississippi River in Grand Rapids.
Inside that trailer people are talking to each other, to loved ones,
telling them things they never knew. The trailer is part of the
StoryCorps project, an initiative to bring understanding to families
and record the human history of America. You can schedule a visit to
the trailer with a family member or friend and simply interview each
other. The recording is given to you as a free CD to serve as part of
family history. With your permission, select interviews may be archived
in the Library of Congress, used on National Public Radio or locally on
KAXE.
Though the StoryCorps trailer is now located in Grand Rapids, a fact
that might cause central and east Rangers to recoil, organizers say
they hope to attract interviews from all over the area, especially the
Iron Range. Our area, with its vibrant history and unique culture, was
central to StoryCorps’ decision to come to northern Minnesota. The
project will be running in Grand Rapids until Sept. 20.
These interviews are as simple, and complicated, as asking questions.
Who? What? Where? When? How? Why?
These are the questions they teach you at journalism school. There’s
some other stuff, too, but good journalists are either too busy and/or
drunk to remember. Just know that those words provide the nitty gritty
of interviewing. A good question will lead to an enduring story.
The answers to the really important questions are easy to remember. You
don’t need notes or a commemorative plaque. You’ll always know if
someone said they loved you, or not; if they knew what was in that odd
looking laboratory beaker that you just drank, or not. You do, however,
need to ask the important
questions, and sadly so many important questions die on the vine.
My life was changed entirely by a question. Though its exact phrasing
is a matter of contention, a woman once asked me, “So, are we a thing?”
The answer was yes. This one question ignited a marriage, indirectly
created three human beings, and continues to line the pockets of a
mortgage company somewhere in Ohio. So, that’s a pretty big question,
but good questions don’t have to be directly related to the status of a
relationship or produce babies to remain valid.
For instance, I am reminded of a story I heard one time about a new
reporter on the Iron Range. She wasn’t from this country and was still
learning English. Perplexingly, she was assigned to cover a hockey game
despite having no idea what hockey was. After reading a book about
hockey from the library, she attended her first game at an Iron Range
rink and asked the local coach just one question afterward. “Why you
lose game?”
That’s a deep question. It’s the only one you need, really. An
experienced reporter might have known to ask about puck handling,
skating strength and missed power play opportunities. But isn’t that
all succinctly tied together in this foreign reporter’s query?
Right now we’ve all got important questions churning in our minds:
questions we’d like to ask our families, our spouse, our friends, our
kids. These questions are the substance of a good life. I don’t mean we
have to ask them to survive. Many people live long lives never asking
the big questions. One of the endearing traits of human beings is that
we are born capable of asking questions, weaving the answers into our
lives and passing on stories.
NOTE: For more information about StoryCorps and how you can schedule a
time for you and your friend or loved one, see www.kaxe.org or call
Heidi at 218-326-1234.
Aaron J. Brown is a columnist for the Hibbing Daily Tribune. Read
more or contact him at his blog www.minnesotabrown.com.
His new book “Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range” will be
out this fall.
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