I Know....

I’ve been slacking as far at this blog is concerned.  No excuses, but I haven’t been totally lazy.  Some of the things we moved out of my Mom and Dad’s wound up at my house.  There are tons of old photos and photo albums.  There are photos that are over 100 years old.  She wanted me to go through them to see what I wanted.  There are two large boxes.  I went through the smallest of the two.  I quickly realized that I need other eyes looking on these photos with me.  There are folks in those photos that I have no idea who they are.  I don’t really care about those photos as they don’t really mean anything to me.  But I am not sure if that means I am supposed to dispose of them or what.   

There are hundreds of photos of early firefighters from the city my Grandfather worked for.  I will probably try to donate them to the fire museum.  He had also been the Historian for the Fire Department.  Quite a bit if his collection was donated at the time of his passing.  How these missed that I can’t even guess.  I have a couple items that I have that were his that will probably go there also, it they want them.  If not, I really don’t know what will happen to them.  There are way too many for us to keep, we just don’t have room.  They would sit in a box on the floor in our way.  It’s that way with all the other photos too and there many many more than the ones I would donate.  

They are only photos, some of long ago forgotten faces and their stories.  Most all will never be known or remembered, now that my Grandparents have passed on.  It will be difficult even for my parents to remember the faces, names, times at this point.  I find it sad that all these lives that these photos represent, mean so little anymore.  What to do with all these memories?  They (the photos) rarely are even considered until someone passes and the family gathers to ‘go through’ the things of the loved one.   Then some stories will come out and smiles and memories are shared, until they are all stored away to be lost to time.  Until the next passing or other event that requires repeating the same steps.  

Yes, they are only photos, of people that have long ago gone on.  Their hopes, dreams, ambitions no more.  The only thing that remains is that photo.  A few stories remain here and there in failing memories, and seem to change a bit every time they are repeated.  It seems a shame in certain ways, that we don’t give proper due, but how do you do that?  The younger generation is too caught up in their own lives, and history means little to nothing.  Throwing out all those photos just seems wrong, very wrong to me.  None of our solutions are workable.  It’s like saying ‘we have no room for you’ anymore in our lives.  We have our walls full of other photos of family, our closets are full, there is no room for you.  

I still remember anyway.  Especially those that meant so much to me as a child and young adult.  I don’t need to look at an old yellow, flaking photo to do that.  I am much too sentimental for my own sanity it seems.  Kim just shakes her head at me when I ask her if she remembers things, ‘why do you keep those old past times in your head?’ she seems to ask.  They were happy times, that I remember, not the troubles.  I think it is just part of my DNA I don’t know.  My interests have always been in the old days.  History and things/times gone by.  Do I live in the past?  No, not really, but I am somewhat alone in this regard, in my family.

I have my well-loved memories, I just try not to drive everyone crazy with them.

Now to start on that other huge box……

Happy Trails