I leave this field report up because I think there is what to learn from it. Elderly people can sometimes have brilliant stories. When I meet elderly people, I just look for questions that I can ask them so that I can hear a good story.

I had known this woman and her family for a few years. She and her family members lived nearby.

The story I was told by her family went like this:

She grew up in a middle-income nation. Her father met her future husband through their religious community. She didn't want to marry him at first. Her father more or less forced her to do so. She married at age 16 when her husband was 27. They had four children. She lived with her husband's extended family who treated her relatively well. They moved to another middle income nation and were lucky to do so because there was a coup in their home country. They ended up having around 16 grandchildren. Her husband died. They also had 5 great-grandchildren which were mostly born after his death.

I sat down with her one day and I came up with the idea to ask her: "What was your wedding like?"

Her face lit up. That's a rare smile from a ninety year old.

"Oh it was wonderful! We had a ceremony in our courtyard and an open house event at our house. People came over bringing gifts and sharing food for a full week!"

She recently died and I lost touch with the family.