Quicktime version – Ogg version – Length 5:40 — Size: 86MB
Here’s my contribution to NaVloPoMo2009, the brainchild of (RAAAA!) Rupert Howe where we all make videos together in November.
Our videoblogging community has worked on a number of group projects such as Videoblogging Week 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009. There was also a couple years of Carp Caviar orchestrated by the quietly creative, Erik Nelson. The archive for these projects seem to be gone, but here are my two contributions: 2006 and 2008. There’s also NaVloPoMo2007. And of course there was Semanal where we all tried to post every week for all of 2008.
I’m really amazed at the quality of video I see these days. Either the video/film people have finally embraced the web…or regular people are just getting better at it. Probably a little of both. And it’s been less than five years since all this started.
Anyway here’s my contribution shot on an iPhone. My mom died a couple months ago. She has been sick for years and she was in a vegetative state the last several weeks. I’m glad Ryanne gave me the good advice to record what happened so I could remember these last couple days with her. It’s largely inspired by this video that my good friend, Michael Verdi, created. In memory of my mom, Nancy Jean Dedman, 1949-2009.
Tags: death, navlopomo, videoblogging, vlomo
This really fits with how things were with my Mother-in-law. It’s certainly not like the movies.
Marvelous piece Jay. Thank you.
Very brave to have made it and haunting. Young life and love at the end make the story complete.
Thank you.
Very powerful. I so don’t want to die in bed.
how do you want to go?
I went through the same a few years back. It wasnt difficult back then however watching this brought forward some feelings I guess I wasnt aware of.
Thank you Jay.
wow.
i was not 100% comfortable posting my vlomo09 video footage.
when their is little planning, anything is possible. seemed right.
this goes further and applaud your willingness to show some of your important moments from that time.
I was also inspired when I saw your video earlier in the month: http://videobloggers.mirocommunity.com/video/93/day-11-more-than-one-home-sadl
There is no social norm for recording death. At least I havent seen many of these stories in videoblogs. It definitely touches on taboos. But this is my Mom. As an english teacher, she would have wanted me to tel the story that made sense to me.
Beautiful, understated and very moving. Thank you for sharing this.
Stunning video. This proves that I really am no video blogger. This was totally awesome.
Ernie it is a journey and a process and the millions of ways to tell a story.
Don’t label what you do against what others have done.
In other words, fire up that Zi8 and get busy.
Yeah Ernie, I just happened to be experiencing a pretty crazy part of life…conveniently in the habit of recording daily life. I actually didnt even had a camera on me until I realized my new iPhone had decent video.
As time goes on, I expect other people will record the crazy parts of life we susually depend on Hollywood to depict for us.
Gena you are totally right. Thank you, the Zi8 will be fired up
Jay, It is an amazing video, I have watched it several times. In fact I have embedded it under my own day 20 post on my site, as I am seriously in awe of it.
Courageous work Jay. Not just the video itself – but to be willing to post it when such a short time has passed. That would be hard for me I think.
My mom has been sick since I was a little kid. In the last ten years, she wasn’t the woman that I knew. She died a long time ago for me. This has really just been a journey of her body hanging on.
I got to say that watching her die made me realize how mundane it all is. Life just collapsing in on itself. There seems no graceful way to do it..unless our society accepts “death with dignity” and the ‘right to die” movement.
As our parents, the Baby Boomers, start dying off….I think its important for us to share what we experience as their children.
Thank you, Jay. An extremely beautiful, deeply moving and powerful narrative. And highly significant for me just now. My father’s just had a diagnosis of terminal lung cancer so I’m very much in this moment.
I can only say, my hope is that there is a heaven, a better place and I hope your mom is there and I hope someday you will both be joined again and the past will be forever gone and only the good times will be remembered….
Take care Jay and God bless….
and just in case there is no afterlife, do what you love now!
regardless of an afterlive you should always do what you love….
saddest thing i seen on the web since caleb. i am going thro the same with my mom. my heart goes out to u jay
What a heartbreaking, beautiful, moving piece. Thank you for this contribution, Jay.
Hello Jay,
Thanks for being willing to share these moments. Very moving and touching. A good reminder to live while you can.
jay. a moment, indeed showing. much love to you and yours.
You’ve given us a beautiful gift carved from your loss. All I can say is thank you.
thank you for sharing this touching moment from your life, jay. the pillow with the words: to teach is to touch a life forever are beautiful & true. i believe she taught you that every moment, whether captured & shown or not, is precious and this is what you pass on to the many people you touch & inspire in your life. take care.
Jay, thank you for sharing such a personal story. So touching. Very bold and brave, it does touch upon the boundaries of the conventional western taboo of death.
Personally been surrounded by death lately and I’ve been thinking about how we think of it as a society, and me personally. We watched my wifes grandfather finally lose his battle with cancer and buried him a couple of weeks ago.
And now my step-father-in-law is succumbing to cancer. Watching life slowly slowly ebb from a loved ones body is very surreal. I agree with your comments regarding right to die. Watching my father-in-law feed his day thru a straw in those last weeks made me think who was really in there. What benefit was there when we all knew we were waiting for the inevitable.
Also, how we come into this life and how we leave, its not too dissimilar. What goes around comes around in a way.
Glad your mother has found some peace. I hope you find strength to get through your mourning.
Jay,
First, I am sorry for your loss.
Second, thank you for sharing this. We found my mother dead in her bed on Sept. 5. The last images of your mother remind me very much of my last memory of my mother. Like your mother, my mom had been ill for a number of years, although she was able to live independently until the end. As we go through this holiday season, I pray that you and your family are at peace.
Best,
Kim Pearson
Thanks Kim. All this reminds me of the choices we each make between now and then.
such a powerful video – thanks so much for sharing…i lost my dad not too long ago and maybe that’s why it was hard to watch….
take care,
ivettza