On many evenings Brenda takes care of her 99-year-old-friend Mrs. Johnston. Brenda grew up next door to the Johnston’s as a child and now she helps Mrs. Johnston deal with the loss of her short term memory. A portrait of their companionship is chronicled in this audio recording.

“This piece was made as a part of my senior thesis work. I began visiting Brenda and Mrs. Johnston, Vera, during the summer of 2011. They welcomed me with hospitality and soon it was evident to me that Brenda and Mrs. Johnston shared a close friendship. Eventually I asked their permission to tell a story about their companionship. So they allowed me to visit with them, record their conversations, and reflections with a small handheld audio recorder on 10 occasions from October 2011 to March 2012.

If people were going to feel Brenda and Vera’s special friendship, I felt they would need to hear them together. Therefore the project developed into an audio portrait.

This work presented an opportunity to grow in my friendship with Brenda and Mrs. Johnston. Also the project presented the chance to learn how to convey a story through sound. I asked Vera and Brenda many questions throughout the year to help me understand their relationship. Sometimes the questions didn’t seem to lead our conversations in a direction and other times Brenda or Vera shared great stories about the past.
During the project I looked for the right audio images or moments to convey their friendship and in this matter I received great help from my professors and classmates. Many of these special moments were not prompted by questions, but came about through casual conversations.

I hope listening to this audio portrait of Brenda and Mrs. Johnston may bring you joy. Maybe hearing this story will remind you of a family member or neighbor. God bless you.”