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Photos, Film, and Recorded Music all capture the past in a way that surpasses human memory. We often forget what people looked like, or we never knew at all, but photos are somewhat of a vehicle of knowing who they were. To see photos of Ellen Webster, for example, were a thrill. Moreover to view a progression of photos from the time she was a young adult until she was a mature woman, is fun.

Old films bring us images of people who are no longer with us. In my time, so many actors have left the stage permanently, so to speak. Yet, it is nice to see Ronald Reagan, movie actor turned president, and so many others.

Perhaps my favorite old film footage is that which includes Frank Sinatra. I like Frank and his songs and just yesterday, I realized why. He enunciated. You could always tell what he was saying. I enjoy clear communicators, in any medium.

Yes, old photos, films, and recorded music are an important part of our culture. Just last week, I heard that Nat King Cole’s daughter had done another overdub on one of his recordings again. This is beautiful because it means that the music he created is still being adapted, and is being infused with the spirit of his daughter.

It is so good that we can have footage of events. Whenever I see the replay of President Kennedy being assassinated, I step back in time and I can almost smell the apprehension in my seventh grade classroom. The mood of fear was palpable.

To see old photos of homesteads on the prairie, or the cotton fields of the South, or photos of the wives of presidents, make us stop a moment to look back to who we were, when the country was young. To see photos of quilting bees reminds us that they actually were held and are not just a romantic notion from an historical novel.

For families, it is great to see photos of ancestors, even though we may not be quite sure what their names are. It is said that when a man (or woman) dies, a book is lost. I am certain that when my mother passed on, she took a lot of family information to the grave. Yet, she also left a lot of data behind. She took a small, date calendar book and wrote in the birth dates of her siblings and other information.

Some folks are lucky enough to have video cameras. Remember to record your loved ones, on film, frequently. Memories, unrecorded in some way, often fade. Today is tomorrow’s yesterday.

Patricia Cummings

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