When Minnie sat down and I began to adjust the microphone, she emphatically told me, “Just don’t make me sing.” At first I didn’t understand, but as Minnie and her daughter Nanette began their conversation, I soon learned why Minnie no longer sings. In public, at least.
Minnie Virgilio (R) and her daughter, Nanette Virgilio (L)
Last week, Facilitator Anna Walters, Memory Loss Initiative Coordinator Perri Chinalai, and I packed up our rental car (very early in the morning!) and traveled to Nanuet, New York for a day of recording with the Alzheimer’s Association Hudson Valley/Rockland/Westchester, NY Chapter. StoryCorps was able to visit Nanuet through the Memory Loss Initiative, a special initiative to record the stories of people living with Alzheimer’s and other illnesses that cause short and long term memory loss.
