I Just Found a VHS Tape That Has Video of My Late Mother On It

Right now I feel like Clark Griswold in Christmas Vacation in the attic watching old movies of his family at Christmas when he was a kid. While looking for something in the basement last night, I found my own personal holy grail. A video that was taken on Christmas morning in 1987.

I knew this tape existed, but have had no idea where it was for years. I have an entire moving box of old VHS tapes, mostly of shows I recorded back in the day before DVR's, video on demand and streaming services that let you watch anything you want with a few clicks. There are episodes of The Price is Right, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and who knows what else on the hundred or so 8 hour tapes. I have gone through the entire box, but have never been able to find the video of Christmas in 1987 and I desperately wanted to find it because my mom was on it.

My mother died from lung cancer in 2005 after being a life-long smoker. It's been over 15 years since I've heard her voice. I have a limited number of pictures of her, but knew that video of her was on this tape, if I could only find it.

Last night I struck gold. I was in the basement looking through boxes for a cord I needed for my computer, and there it was. Sitting at the bottom of a box of old books for, I don't know how long, was a VHS tape labeled "Christmas 1987."

Now I had a new problem. Where can I find a VCR? Then I remembered when we built our studios at One City Center that every studio had a VCR and TV. The VCR's are all gone, except for one.

It's dusty and dirty, because radio DJ's are pigs, but it should work fine because as far as VCR's go, it's not that old.

Now the billion dollar question. What's the condition of the tape? It's been sitting in a box, in a cold basement in the winter and a sometimes humid basement during the summer. The only way to know is plug it into my TV and hope for the best. Stay tuned!