The Dallas Way recognizes the profound historical importance of capturing the stories of the GLBT community of Dallas, Texas and the urgent need for this work to happen now.
We'd like to hear the stories of those who lived before the 1969 Stonewall uprisings, celebrate the lives of GLBT youth, and hear the untold or under-told stories too often excluded from the historical record. It's the small details that often become the most meaningful: your first time in a gay bar, how you found that bar, your first kiss, how you met your partner.
It doesn't have to be a novel - just tell us about some small aspect of your GLBT experience in Dallas.
The end result will be a diverse collection of stories that will enrich our city’s history.
Too often we think we don't have a story to tell - when we ALL have a story.
GREAT QUESTIONS FOR ANYONE*
When did you first realize you were gay?
What was the first time you were in a gay bar like?
Why did you join the organizations you have?
Who has been the most important person in your life? Can you tell us about him or her?
What are the most important lessons you’ve learned in life?
Are there any funny stories or memories or characters from your life that you want to tell about?
What are you proudest of?
When in life have you felt most alone?
If you could hold on to one memory from your life forever, what would that be?
How has your life been different than what you’d imagined?
How would you like to be remembered?
If you could interview anyone from your life living or dead, but not a celebrity, who would it be and why?
Do you have a love of your life?
When did you first fall in love?
Can you tell about your first kiss?
What was your first serious relationship?
What lessons have you learned from your relationships?
How did you meet your husband/wife?
How did you know he/she was “the one”?
Do you have any favorite stories from your work life?
How did being gay impact your working life?
Were you out at work?
Can you tell us about your religious beliefs/spiritual beliefs and how being gay has influenced them?
Do you think about dying? Are you scared?
How do you imagine your death?
Do you regret anything?
Do you look at your life differently now than before you were diagnosed?
What have you learned from life? The most important things?
Has illness changed you? What have you learned?
Did you go to war? What was it like?
How did war change you?
During your service, can you recall times when you were afraid?
What are your strongest memories from your time in the military?
What lessons did you learn from this time in your life?
Tell me about _____.
What is your first memory of _____?
What is your best memory of _____?
What is your most vivid memory of _____?
What did _____ mean to you?
Are you comfortable/ can you talk about _____’s death? How did _____ die?
What has been the hardest thing about losing _____?
What would you ask _____ if _____ were here today?
What do you miss most about _____?
How do you think _____ would want to be remembered?
Can you talk about the biggest obstacles _____ overcame in life?
What did _____ look like?
Did you have any favorite jokes _____ used to tell?
Do you have any stories you want to share about _____?
What were _____’s hopes and dreams for the future?
Is there something about _____ that you think no one else knows?
How are you different now than you were before you lost _____?
What is the image of _____ that persists?
Do you have any traditions to honor _____?
What has helped you the most in your grief?
*from StoryCorps "Great Questions"