Christopher Columbus Interview Essay

I had the pleasure of interviewing Mr. Columbus Nelson, he was born at home a small town of Sherman Texas one year before the depression in 1928, living now at the ripe young age of 88. As our conversation began he recalled the times of being raised by his father along with ten other siblings in the house as well as his biological mother at that time. "We had plenty of food , plenty of clothes, warm clothes", this was because during the seasonal changes it would become very cold even inside the house, and summer 's were just as hot. Columbus started school around six years of age and attend Fort Dublin High School where he played some football, softball, and was an avid lover of sports also enjoying activities such as fishing and hunting, …show more content…
Later in life he met a woman by the name of Mattie and they have been close ever since, Although they did not married they still love each other very much. It 's quite difficult for them to see each other now since Mattie is now in an assisted living facility. He had also had one son form his first wife who died early but left him with two grandchildren. Despite not having any living children Columbus "adopted" the family of his partner Mattie. They 've had great experiences over the years and treats them as his own family, "like flesh and blood" he says, even going as far as making her son, "his own". Religion has been a cornerstone of belief and support for him and he even considers the church as a family, he began reminiscing of his favorite pastor but couldn 't quite recall his name. Columbus ' attitude towards his own health can described as positive, although he is fully aware of the bodily changes that have occurred over his life, so he does the best he can to avoid getting sick. This could be attributed to his experience growing up he had a lot of interaction with illness while being in a large family and there weren 't as many cures or treatments during the era he was growing up in so he feels fortunate that he can visit the doctors whenever he sick and goes on to mention that, "after everything else is gone, health is really all we 've got, so it 's …show more content…
Nelson during the sunny afternoon of 5/7/2016 and was recorded in audio format. I was able to contact him through a family friend who has know him for many years. Mr. Nelson considers practically everyone he knows his family and even calls me "son" during the interview which I found quite charming. His home was very well organized and furnished with what many might consider antique 's and other types of collectables. Given Mr. Nelson 's recent injury after falling, I initially thought the interview would not be doable but he has been recovering well and his able to relax at home after doing some rehabilitation. It was a really pleasant experience getting to interview Columbus and hear about his life story as well as the wisdom he imparted on me about relationships, finance and spirituality. I 'm certain that Mr. Nelson was as comfortable answering my questions as I was asking them and I learned a lot from him in just our short 40 min interview. Interview 's make for great research tools because of the detail and specificity of face to face interaction. Other advantages of using this method are that it 's relatively inexpensive, there 's flexibility in the format as one is able to be as formal or informal as necessary. This also adds to the ease of audio or video recording so that the information can be reviewed later. There are potential pitfalls such as asking "the wrong questions", or that you 're the person