Making A Tape
Our family had a custom of corresponding with my oldest brother, who lived in Germany, through a cool and somewhat unusual means. About every two weeks, we would make an audio tape to him and his family.
We used a reel to reel tape recorder and a small reel of recording tape. Most of the time, we would have a few ‘notes’ of important things of life that we wanted to mention, but often we would just sit at a kitchen table or on the couch in the living room or where ever my dad chose to set up the ‘recording production’ and speak off the cuff about life. Occasionally, after cassette tapes became the norm, we would even record audio correspondence while driving in the car.
The expression on my face tells a story, too. By December 1969, there were just three of us at home, my dad, my brother and me. We would each take a turn at the recorder and create a message for my oldest brother and his family. About 10 days later, that tape would be delivered to Germany and then his family would make a response tape and send it back to us.
Telephone calls were soooo expensive when calling from the US to other countries; the recorder became a way to experience each others’ voices without spending a fortune in phone call charges monthly.
A little about the setting: I am in our family den. The console TV was a beautiful piece of furniture, but it transmitted a black & white picture. Some families had color TV in their homes in 1969, but many were making the transition. As I held the microphone and pondered my next sentence, my dad grabbed a camera and took my picture. Sometimes, my brother and I got annoyed at so much picture taking. I think my facial expression captures the ‘oh, another picture’ feeling.
I am especially thankful that he took so many pictures.
