National Day Of Listening

Dear Dr. LeCrone:

As the Thanksgiving holiday approaches, Americans across the nation look forward to spending time surrounded by friends and family.

StoryCorps, the largest oral history project of its kind, asks Americans to linger a bit longer in the spirit of thanks.

On the day after Thanksgiving, the project will launch the first-ever National Day of Listening, inviting Americans to honor a loved one by conducting an interview about his or her life.

It takes only an hour to participate, using materials already available in most homes - from video cameras to tape recorders to computers or even pen and paper.

The National Day of Listening Web site, at www.nationaldayoflistening.org, contains an easy-to-use Do-It-Yourself Guide to preparing for the interview. Visitors will also find questions and stories to inspire conversation and tips on how to share and preserve these discussions for generations to come.

Simple questions -- such as: What is your happiest memory? What is the most important lesson you’ve learned? How do you want to be remembered? -- generate deeply poetic and profound insights into who we are as individuals and as families.

Taking the time to look a loved one in the eye and listen to their beliefs, hopes, and dreams reaffirms the common humanity we all share and the often extraordinary stories ordinary people carry within them.

Over the past five years, StoryCorps has recorded more than 20,000 interviews in all 50 states. Each week, millions of Americans listen to StoryCorps’ award-winning broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition and on www.storycorps.net.

With the launch of the National Day of Listening, StoryCorps hopes that even more Americans will devote an hour to listening to a friend, grandparent, neighbor, or a person whose story they have always been curious about.

As we head into the holiday season during this time of economic uncertainty, so many of us are on the lookout for the right gift for the important people in our lives. Sitting down and listening to a loved one is the most meaningful and least expensive gift you can give.

So this year, before you rush out the door on the day after Thanksgiving, take an hour and listen!

We invite you and your readers to join us in celebrating this day and spreading the word that listening is an act of love.

-- Happy Thanksgiving and best wishes from StoryCorps