Sunday, October 18, 2009

Old Photos

People accumulate possessions. Many of them are touchstones from important periods of their lives. Life is not infinite and people pass on. These mementos move on down to the next generation.

When my Father died I took over some his personal memorabilia collection. He kept his Military photos in Khaki cloth covered notebook sealed with a brass buckle-the notebook appears to be US Army issued.
He never shared them with me while alive but in his death they became a part of my memory of him.
The poses show soldiers relaxing listening to a phonograph played on a victrola and enjoying the bonds that brought them close. A brotherhood that no doubt motivated slaughter to defend each other.
I keep those yellowing pieces of paper in a safe place and scanned to the hard drive.
They inspire perspectives in both general and personal history

2 comments:

Andrew said...

Thanks for putting this photo on your web site. Is your father one of these guys? Do you know where the photo was taken or anything about the circumstances? Looking back at the lives of our parents as they fade from view is hard so I know how you must feel finding this stash of photos. My father was in the Spanish Civil War, something he had a hard time talking much about. I recently discovered a web site from the Tamiment library at NYU where its collection of photos from Spain is displayed. Somehow, I am almost afraid to open them up. I want to see but don't want to see - so much is hidden there but also revealed.

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