I Was There

Thought for the day:  Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still. [Dorothea Lange]

A camera is kinda like a mirror with a memory, which is really good, because sometimes my rememberer forgets.

Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever... it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.  [Aaron Siskind]

And what can be captured on film (or digitally) can also capture the imagination. Can make you wonder about what you see in that picture, what came before, and what happened afterwards. That's why pictures make such excellent writing prompts.

The talented Delores of thefeatherednest has been providing weekly photo writing prompts for the past twenty weeks, and it's been fun to see the pictures she and others have offered for consideration, and to read the various posts inspired by those pictures. Alas, this week's prompts are the last until next spring, so I figured I'd play along for this last round. Better late than never, eh?

 Delores offered four different pictures for this last round. Here's the one I chose:

                                             And here's where that picture led me:


                                                        Kilroy was here.  
                                                        Frightened,
                                                        Hopeful,
                                                        Filled with bravado,
                                                        I left my mark,
                                                        Proving to posterity
                                                        That I was there.
                                                        Look.
                                                        Do you see it?
                                                        Do you remember me?
                                                        I was there.
                                                        And then...
                                                        Blown away
                                                        By the uncaring winds of time...
                                                        I was gone.

                                                       Footprints in the sand.
                                                       Running,
                                                       Playing,
                                                       Filled with life,
                                                       I left my mark,
                                                       Proving to posterity
                                                       That I was there.
                                                       Look.
                                                       Do you see them?
                                                       Do you remember me?
                                                        I was there.
                                                       And then...
                                                       Washed away
                                                        By the uncaring waves of time...
                                                        I was gone.

                                                        Bootprints in the snow.
                                                        Crunching,
                                                        Sliding,
                                                        Chilled with cold,
                                                         I left my mark,
                                                        Proving to posterity
                                                        That I was there.
                                                        Look.
                                                        Do you see them?
                                                        Do you remember me?
                                                         I was there.
                                                         And then...
                                                         Melted away
                                                         By the uncaring suns of time...
                                                         I was gone.

                                                        Do you remember me?
                                                        Does anybody care?
                                                        I was there.
                                                        Oh yes,
                                                        Once upon a time...
                                                        I was there.

I WAS THERE.

                                Thanks, Delores. That was fun. (In a melancholy sorta way. HA!)

                                 Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.

But They're In My Heart

Nope, sorry, I'm not planning on whipping out my wallet to bribe you guys into posting a comment today. I was just wondering: do you carry around a bunch of pictures in your wallet?

Years ago, while browsing in the infant department at the local department store, I ran into an older woman who was looking rather lost in the midst of all those diapers and baby bottles. We smiled, exchanged a few friendly words, and the next thing I knew, she was showing me pictures of her grandchildren. My daughter, who was about twelve at the time, executed a perfect adolescent eye roll at me. Poor thing, she was absolutely mortified. I mean, how could her mother stand in the middle of the store carrying on like that with a complete stranger(!)?
The thing is, I didn't have any pictures in my wallet to share with that nice lady. Still don't. I'm married to the love of my life, have three wonderful children, and a whole herd of smart, beautiful grandkids. But no pics to whip out in the middle of the infant department or anywhere else. But they ARE in my heart.

How about you? Is your wallet crammed with pictures of your loved ones? (Or I suppose, nowadays, a bunch of you carry around one of those electronic gizmos that not only stores pictures ... AND videos!, but also surfs the internet, and starts your coffeepot in the morning ...)

Interesting aside: Although one of my husband's business associates had a wife and kids, he chose to carry around pictures of his DOG! I'm not sure what that meant, and have no idea if he's still married, either ...

Anyway, I'm not gonna whip out pictures of my family here, but I am going to give a shout out to one of my chicks. It's her birthday. She's no longer an eye-rolling adolescent, and I'm pleased to say, she's just as likely to strike up a lively conversation with a complete stranger(!) as I am now. Let's call her Honey Bunny, and though she's thirty-three years old today, she'll always, always be our baby. A baby with a big heart and even bigger smile. Who's very much loved.

Even if I don't have a picture of her in my wallet.

Thought for the day: The secret to eternal youth? Simple. Lie about your age.