Supplement
(1)
Examples of story-retellings
Older adult: “Bob was a plainclothes man. He hadn’t seen his friend for over 20 years. Finally he
was in town and they met up with each other. While they were there they talked about a restaurant
that they used to go. He told him that the restaurant was destroyed. It wasn’t there any longer. They
had quite a conversation about different things that was going on. So when the man met up with …
Bob, was his friend’s name, I believe. Yes, it was Bob. He was supposed to have met Bob at a
certain location. Well, when he went there he saw Bob light a cigarette. When Bob lit the cigarette
he looked at him. Then he left him a note. He said that the reason I didn’t come over to you because
when you lit the cigarette I saw a man’s face that was wanted and I couldn’t arrest you. So I had the
plainclothes man to come arrest you. Jim.”
Middle-aged adult: Well, what I gathered from this story was this. It’s a story about Bob. Bob and
his friend met at this restaurant. And they made this pact. They told each other that they were going
to come back together at twenty years. And so that’s what they did. So Bob arrived back again at
this restaurant. A man walked forward to him. The man says that, well, he said, well I wish the
restaurant was still here and they wished they could have dinner. Then they went on talking. Then
later on, as they were talking, the man moved into the glare of the restaurant lights. Then Bob
looked at the man and he knew it wasn’t Jimmy, the real man that he was waiting for. Then after
that, the man said that the real person told him to give him this note. And it was from Jimmy.
Jimmy was a cop and had to find someone to pretend to be him. And then I think he arrested him.
And that was it.
(2)
Examples of personal narratives:
Older adult: In our church service, this young girl was presenting a gift to this lady. We couldn’t
understand her. And she was standing there beaming and she looked like she wanted to cry. Then
she gave her the gift. Come to find out, that was her mother.
Middle-aged adult: I went on a date with this boy. I didn’t know that my father had sent my brother
to follow me to make sure I was safe. We went to the movies and then we went to Hot Shoppes. So
when we got to the Hot Shoppes, the boy started to get fresh and he was ready to come in to fight
him, but before that happened, I got up and caught a cab home.
(3)
Examples of story-retelling:
Older adult: “1There was a guy named, what’s his name…Bob and the police. 2And the man was
standing there smoking a cigarette. 3And he went up to him. 4They talked for awhile. 5Then there
appeared a guy that the man thought that he knew. 6But the police, I think, came up and said to the
man that he was under arrest.”
(4)
Example of story-retelling:
Older adult: It was a man who was talking to the police. He lit a match to smoke a cigarette. He
started talking to him about how things had changed. And after they talked for a while, (and) he
said that he wasn’t the fellow that he was looking for.”