This was an interesting series of tests:
Quote:
Originally Posted by fanaudical
Secrets of the past are usually kept secret for a reason.
Does anybody in your family stand to gain in a positive way from discussing the secret? Or is there more possibility of somebody getting hurt? Will divulging the secret tarnish good memories of the deceased?
I think the only reason I would discuss with others if it would prevent further harm.
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It was a secret because at one time he might have been jailed or killed to surpress his secret - - but it's too late for any of that now, especially since he's gone. And he was smart enough to not share any details with me that would implicate or lead me to others - - but he did indicate that others like him exist.
I don't know whether he told me his secret because he just needed to offload to someone, or whether he wanted me to remember it as a cautionary tale, or perhaps as his version of the events should his story become known through other means, which is possible some day. He didn't sit me down and say "son, I want you to know this," rather he let slip a few odd statements that I finally decided to ask him about it near his end.
It would make an interesting storyline for a book or movie - - in fact my wife isn't sure he didn't just make it up based on other popular works. I only know the rough outline of his story as he recounted it to me over a few hours. I've recently written down as much of the exchange as I can remember as I was already forgetting details even though it's only been about 5 years since I heard it - - I wish I'd written it down much sooner. It's an interesting tale with some life lessons
As to whether anyone in the family would benefit or be harmed, or not be harmed. It'd be a neat story, but otherwise a non-event for most of the family. The potential emotional impact would be most focused on my MIL and maybe his sister. If they don't already know, I suspect it would confuse them as it did when I told my wife. It might make them question whether they really knew him or what else they didn't know about him. For these reasons, I have no intentions of discussing it with the family. I wouldn't want to hurt them to feed my curiosity.
I've looked up as much as I can on the internet. A lot of details he shared generally seem to fit with historical records. But I'm pretty sure a lot of the information isn't out there yet. If anything, I suspect related knowledge may be in the heads of some of the older guys here.
I need to think about discussing it in more detail with PPOT. Maybe I have Id01t setup a message board.
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