Your grandpa’s story about the car he had in 1978 is a documentary nobody else can stream. Listen while it’s playing.

An old story is a recording with one copy. The details that sound like padding, the colour of the car, what a tank of fuel cost, who was in the passenger seat, are what make a vanished world specific, and nobody else can supply them. Boredom is usually a sign you are listening for a plot rather than for a place. What is on offer is access.

Ask one follow up question next time instead of waiting it out. Ask what it smelled like, or who he was driving to see. Record it on your phone if he will let you.