Connections

One of my earliest blips, in December 2011, was of the photo you see on the right in this trio. Taken in 1924, it shows my maternal grandmother -- Memie, as we grandchildren called her -- holding a camera. I'd found it amongst the wealth of photos, papers, and more that I inherited from my mother, and was delighted at the insights that this simple image provided.

I never saw my grandmother take a photo during the time I knew her, but in going through those that had survived a number of moves over many years, I was intrigued to discover that she took quite a few while in college and put them into an album, as well as when she was the mother of four lively children and hosted relatives who visited for several weeks -- or months -- at a time.

Memie took that family group photo that same year -- 1924 --when her husband's great-aunt made the long trip from California to Virginia to visit family. Aunt Somer is the tall woman on the right, and the small woman in the middle is Aunt Somer's mother -- Susan Jane Watkins Werth, born in 1839, my grandfather's grandmother. 

I won't identify everyone else in this photo, but I must point out my mother, sitting on the ground on the left, perhaps pretending to be an Indian. This glimpse into her childhood, and the people who loved her, would never have existed had not my grandmother had a camera and used it to record some of her life experiences.

The camera I'm holding in the color photo, circa 1976, is a far cry from my grandmother's camera. The camera I used today would have sounded like a fairy tale to me 1976 -- and it still seems like magic (those pixels)! 

But no matter what the technology, it's the recording of our everyday lives that counts -- that connects us to the future, just as my grandmother's photos connect me to the past.

I am continually struck by the richness of what is before me every day when I click on my Blipfoto link -- thoughtful glimpses into the lives of people around the world -- and the genuine caring for one another that is fostered in this community. All of us are leaving a priceless gift for future generations, as well as honing our own observations of daily life here and now.

This is my 1,825th blip. I'm immensely grateful for the support, encouragement, and inspiration that I've received here, and for the opportunity to get to know a goodly number of the folks I follow in person. On to 2000!

Blip 1825