Legacy

I’ve hinted at this subject in a few comment posts and I’d now like to elaborate. One day a few years ago I was reading a book by James Harriot where Harriot commented on a treatment he was trying on an animal. He said, “…it won’t make a difference in a hundred years.”

That got me thinking about what will make a difference in a hundred years. When I lived back east there were a lot of structures, monuments and trees that were well over a hundred years old, but here in Astoria there are few things that old. There were a couple fires that wiped out the town. Most of the trees growing are the result of a third of fourth planting. The bridges are relatively new.

Then realize how many people have lived here through out history, and we can only name a hand full of people who actually have done something that we still associate with today, a hundred years later. There are some families here who have been here over 100 years, but that’s the only remarkable thing about it.

I’ve done some speaking in schools over the years, and one question I like asking is if anyone famous ever came from their school. Most schools boast of no one famous, yet some will talk about a star athlete from the 50’s or the 60’s who hasn’t been heard of since they left that school.

So in the grand scheme of things, it is rare that anyone does anything remarkable that will still be around in a hundred years and keep your name alive for that amount of time.

Yes, I understand that if you have a child who has a child, it all falls back to you in the ancestor realm, but in reality few things we do today will matter in 100 years. There are physicians who change and save lives every day, few will be remembered. There are architects who design buildings that may be standing hundreds of years from now, yet Frank Lloyd Wright will be the only architect that will ever be remembered by name.

We know the names of several artists and composers from a hundred years or more in history, but how many Doctors can you name. How many lawyers, preachers, actors can you name from 100 years ago or more? How many police officers and fire fighters? You can probably name astronomers, mathematicians and writers, but how many Pony Express riders, coal miners and shop keepers?