What a great day to be off work. The sun is shining in a clear blue sky; there is a light breeze; the temp. is closing in on 60’ F, and the snow is almost gone. If this pattern holds the only evidence of the snowstorm this week will be the residual sand and salt on the roadways. I’ll be heading out for a walk shortly just to enjoy the fresh air and the warm sun.
While rummaging through the storage space I found another box of photo albums from the previous life. They too, will be thrown away, but a friend is coming by tomorrow to view them beforehand. I’ve already dumped the first four years of photos (1975 – 78), and the Ex disposed of dozens of trays of slides – my film of choice most of the time. These go back to 1979 and end somewhere in the mid-nineties.
From the NYC apartment to the house in the woods of Northwestern NJ; various trips and events; vegetable gardening and old friends – many long since dead. Summer trips to lakes Winnipesaukee and Sunapee (see the photo above) with friends in New Hampshire, and weekend getaways to upstate NY and Massachusetts. To holidays in London, Amsterdam, and Paris.
Good times and happy faces all around. Weddings, births, baptisms, and funerals. Volunteering for the AIDS Memorial Quilt displays in DC in 88, 89, and 92. The March on Washington, and plenty of NYC Pride Parades. What a full life that was. ‘WAS’ being the operative word in all this.
Surprisingly I feel nothing looking at them now. Mildly surprised when it’s difficult to recall details of a specific photo or the name of a person in the shot. That’s to be expected after 3 decades and so many life-changing events.
That’s all I got. It’s time for that walk in the sun.
More later.
I find it interesting that the photos evoke little reaction in you. I cannot say the same for myself when I look back at old pictures.
ReplyDeleteAs you know I hold onto all of my old photos. I probably don't have as many as you (or as well organized) but I treasure every photo. Good times, bad times and times in between. They are all a record of my Life's Journey. I cannot (nor do I want to) rewrite history. I look at preserving memories from a different perspective because of my interest in genealogy. Someone one hundred years in the future might research this time and my participation in life. I want them to have as much at their disposal for an accurate history of my time and those who interacted with my life. To me it is very short sighted and self indulgent to try and erase history. But then, that's me. I judge no one else by their decisions. Perhaps it is self indulgent on my part to assume anyone would want to know of my failures, misjudgements, and bad decisions. I don't know. All I know that, for me, to try and erase part of my past would be impossibile. I am, I was here and I lived it. Good, bad, indifferent.
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