retaining value

  I have old photographs of people I never knew to remind me of the past. Faces and places recorded on film, printed on various papers and formats. All were precious at the moment they were taken, the people happy, proud to have their picture taken. Pictures taken for every reason under the sun. In the beginning they were a rare and expensive thing, immediate family heirlooms, at least to the living they were. Succeeding generations may or may not have kept those treasures. There really is no telling were time will take some things. I am very fortunate to have a precious few handed down and identified. All too often those pictures lose their identity and the value is deeply diminished. It is always a sad sight to see old pictures in the trash, I want to pull them out, save them, even when I have no idea who those folks may have been. Today we take pictures constantly, preserved in a digital format for the most part, I expect a very small percentage of them are ever printed. Will those digital images be handed down? I do wonder about that. Certainly the technology will be available to view them but how many people will have that tech? Could you play a 45rpm record right now? I mean without having to go purchase a means to do so? I have cd's today and no way to open them. It could be just my lack of technical proficiency. Whatever the case those pictures stand a good chance of being lost. 

 I am often reminded of all that because of the pictures I do have on my walls. The vast majority of them are my ancestors and descendants. Yes I have a few that are art, if that is what you wish to label it, but my art holds no monetary value whatsoever. I just call them, pictures. Pictures are different than art, right? If you have a 100,000 dollar Banksy or whatever would you call it a picture? Well no matter what you call it if you enjoy looking at it that's fine. I'm just saying my walls are filed with memories for the most part. It's my house and so I want to feel comfortable in that space. I'm comfy with those old faces and happy with the new ones. 

 Now living across the street from the funeral home I am aware of the coming and going. Yeah it sounds a little morbid I suppose, but it is a fact of life, people pass away. The town were I live has a population of about 2000 and I have to say the undertaker stays busy. I realize that not all of those folks live in the town but still it strikes me so many are laid to rest. I do see the mourners coming and going. In these covid times the number has been reduced I'm certain of that. I have seen a few where there were folks lined up outside waiting their turn. The biggest indicator is the number of cars in the parking lot. I have seen those with just a few and those that were overflowing the lot, All those folks coming to say goodbye. And it is in that I wonder, how long will their picture last? I'm certain they will not be forgotten by those that loved them in life, and I'm certain their spouses, children or grandchildren will keep their picture safe. But I'm wondering about future generations, will they survive time? I do have my second great mothers picture but that is as far back as I can go in photographs. I wonder how many other pictures of that lady even exist today? Other family members may have some I can't say for certain. The pictures that interest me the most are those direct ancestors and descendants of my immediate family. I'm thinking that is probably true for the majority of us. 

 Now having written about this on several occasions I find my attitude remains unchanged. It's all important to me. I find myself staring at the photographs sometimes, wondering, questioning what they may have been thinking at that moment. The older ones are all posed so I would imagine that is what was on their mind, how do I look? Later on there are casual shots which are my favorites. Even those casual shots are somewhat posed though and it is the moment captured that I remember when looking at them. I do have some completely candid shots that are the best ever. Those are difficult to get but becoming easier over time and with new technology. 

 Today we tend to take pictures of just about everything and anything. I take pictures of what I eat, a planter or something I baked, just whatever I'm occupied with at the moment. That is solely because it can be done so quickly and cheaply. All those pictures captured in digital form. It will be funny if years from now those pictures are rediscovered. What the heck? Why is there a picture of this sorry looking meatloaf? And just what was Grandpa thinking when he took that one? I don't think they will hanging any of those on their walls. Still they are a record aren't they? Yes, an archive to be studied full of wonder and speculation. That's how I always felt when Dad pulled out his scrapbook from the war or Mom showed me pictures of strange people in strange clothes that she said were my relatives. And today I have many of them on my walls looking at me, wonder what they think about all of that? The value is retained in the memories, either directly or through that mystical veil we call time. Just as we live as long as our name is spoken, so too we live as long as we are identified in those pictures, those images. Time can cloud them over and you become lost. That's what I believe anyway.