How do you want to be remembered?

Speaker 1 The question I'm going to ask today, Dad, Papa, is. Speaker 2 And today I want to talk to you, Mom. Speaker 3 The question that we're going to talk about is what? Speaker 4 Is the most scared I've ever been. That one left off the page for me. Speaker 5 How we embrace the things that we've done that we regret in life. Speaker 6 How I? Speaker 3 Almost died twice in two years. Speaker 1 How was the day of your wedding? Speaker 7 Well, there's an interesting story with that. Speaker 4 And I can tell you about it. Speaker 8 Welcome to the Story Worth podcast. I'm your host Story Worth Co founder Krista Baum. Each week on the show we bring people together to discover stories they've never heard about the people they thought they knew. Today the story of an 85 year old New Jersey man named Raymond who loved writing his Story Worth memoir so much his family decided to throw a surprise book launch party for him. Raymond and his daughter Melissa tell the story. Speaker 2 My name is Melissa Burtani. This is my dad, Raymond Fisher. Speaker 3 Well, I'm, I'm an old codger at this point in life. I'm already 85 and I've I've been very blessed with eight children, a sweet wife and I had a great grandchild born in April of this year. Speaker 2 So as a Christmas gift to my dad, this was now almost over a year ago, we purchased the story worth for him. And every every week he was receiving a a question. He would get the opportunity to answer these. And his his favorite thing to do was to tell us how he would, you know, read them on Monday, whenever he received it, ruminate on it for like, you know, the five or six days and then he would answer his questions at the end of the week. So over that year, we would get once a week, we got his questions answered and then towards the end of writing or actually after he had kind of finished his book, we, I saw I got an e-mail that was, hey, if you're interested in perhaps doing a book launch for this person, do you think you could, you know, send some information and just kind of put out feelers and see if if it was something that would be a good fit? And I was like, you know what, what's the, what's the harm? I'm going to try this, right. So I put in where we reside, why I thought it was meaningful and why I thought my dad would be a good option. A multitude of reasons, right? He knocked it out of the park. He did an absolutely wonderful job writing like, very heartfelt responses to these questions and. Speaker 3 I have not prepped her for this by the way. Speaker 2 In addition to this, my mom also suffers from dementia, so that makes this whole process even much that much more meaningful to us, to have all these answers and these responses. So I put in that my dad was an old timey dude and my mom has dementia. And then I was contacted and the rest is history. They reached out to us and decided that we were going to do a surprise book launch for my dad. So he had completed his whole book. He did all his stories and the whole goal was to create this event, unbeknownst to him, with all of his family and friends who then get to see the fruits of his labor. We get to see all his hard work over the last year. Keeping it a surprise was was very challenging, right? Because we were very excited and we knew that he was going to love it. But over that process, it was kind of a couple meetings of trying to figure out what was going to be the most meaningful for him, like location wise, food wise, you know, wine that he enjoys. The people, I should have said that first. The people, of course, who would be included and and kind of what would make this element even more special? Speaker 3 I, I, I used to think I had a half a brain, but I think I might have surrendered some of it because they pulled the wool over my eyes very easily. They told me that I was going to a poetry reading of a niece that Melissa has by marriage and wouldn't I like to do that? And so I said sure. So I, I came over to Melissa and Scott's for dinner that night and tried to pour marinara sauce all over myself. We were having some calamari, so the two of them looked like they were going to pass out but had. Speaker 2 A heart attack, absolute stress, literal stress. And then when he, I and I thought about it, you know, I'm like, he's in his suit. So we had to prep him to get him to wear appropriate clothes that I thought, you know, OK, he'd want to present himself in. So I told him to wear a suit. He's got a. Speaker 3 Banded blue. Blue blazer, Yes. Speaker 2 He's wearing his, his outfit, he's looking, you know, dressed to the 9th. And then we order all these apps and I'm sitting there watching him eat. I'm like, this man is about to throw this calamari and this marinara sauce all over his shirt. And I don't know what, I don't know what the backup is. I don't know what to tell him. And I was like, Oh no. So that's just that the nerves just started from there, right? I just was, I mean, I was already nervous. So then I, I finally couldn't take it anymore. I excuse myself. I went and got got dressed and then thankfully my husband was was here with us too. So he drove us over to the event and walking in, you know, even just walking down the street, I was like, this is about to be the most magical moment. Just we knew we knew what was coming and he had no idea, which made it that much more fun. You know, it was a true, true surprise. Like he had absolutely no idea and he doesn't think that he is a person who deserves any of this stuff, which makes it that much more meaningful and that much more special. He's like, Oh no, he's the aw shucks guy. The the no not me kind of thing. But anyone deserves it. It is 100% him. Speaker 3 We took off him and went to the to the poetry reading and we sat down in the first row. Well, I they, they pulled down the screen that had this humongous picture of me that is also featured on the book itself and I just started laughing and he said turn around and look. The family and friends came walking in and then I turned around and looked and they were all there and wow. Speaker 2 Watching the the screen come up with his face and then seeing him crack up and kind of start to put the pieces together was just like, it was amazing. It was the best moment. So we did he actually he was so cute. So we had him do. He did a reading. Speaker 6 How do you want to be remembered? To my friends, I would like to be remembered as a true friend. I would like to be remembered as a good parent who loved and treated them equally. It's going to be tough. To my bride, I would like to be remembered as a caring husband, was always there for her through all our trials, tribulations and successes. This was fun and easy to do. Reading it, I can see that I have been blessed with being given good life. Speaker 2 It was a very, it's a very moving and emotional piece. So having him read that excerpt was was, I don't want to say hard it was. Speaker 3 Emotionally. Speaker 2 Emotionally, yeah, it was, it was an emotional moment for sure, like watching him get choked up and, and seeing and hearing those words from him. So he read us one of his passages and then he was able to do a signing and he was, it was cute. He didn't just write his name. You know, you would think it's just he's this, he's this big author now, so he's just going to write his name. But he wrote an individual individualized message, a heartfelt individualized message to each person. So it it was, you know, you could see him sit down and really think and engage with each each person and truly was, I think, thankful that each of these individuals came. And after that we had like a little hors d'oeuvres, you know, food and wine and there was a slideshow. And then one of the biggest surprises was there was a video of that my mom had recorded that my actually my sister had recorded of my mom receiving the book prior to my dad even receiving it. Speaker 7 I have something very special for you and you get to be the first person to open it. Speaker 2 Oh wow. Speaker 9 Hello, Raymond. Peter. Speaker 7 Isn't he a handsome guy Be. Speaker 9 Sure enough. Speaker 7 So dad wrote answers to all these questions and kind of told his life story. This is the last entry. If you could thank anyone, who would you thank and why? My choice is Nancy Ruth Robertson. Speaker 9 Wow. Speaker 7 The love of my life, the woman I adore, the mother of my children, my best friend. Speaker 9 Such a great right to her, I couldn't wish for better. Speaker 2 Seeing her reaction was just incredible. You know, she, she too, is someone who doesn't think she deserves these things and doesn't deserve accolades and things of that nature. But these are two of the most deserving people. And seeing her even through the dementia, understand just a snippet of what this meant and who this guy is and that he loves her so much was just like, it's just a memory that we'll never lose. It was incredible it. Speaker 3 Was the person that of of living in dead that I would most like to thank. And it was my bride. You know, I, I, I, I just took a peek and and looked. It's it's the the girl of my dreams, the woman I adore, the mother of my children, my best friend. Speaker 2 He is. Speaker 3 Still on your right, This. This is an emotional moment again. I brought over a box of tissues for me and I feel like I need them again. To tell you the truth, Melissa's running to get me some tissues. Speaker 8 That's it for this episode of the Story Worth podcast. I'm Krista Baum. Thanks so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, rate and review our podcast wherever you're listening. Stories featured on the Story Worth podcast are shared with the express permission and participation of the storyteller. All Story Worth stories are private by default. Visit storyworth.com to learn more about us. And this podcast was produced by the folks at Good Weight Productions. Remember, everyone has a story worth sharing. See you soon.