My friend went to Africa and I got these photos. Works for me. No jet lag.
I remember as a child going to friends’ houses – and one teacher’s house – to look at photos of trips taken to far away places. Sitting on the sofa, the carpet or a chair I was always enthralled with their stories, memories and images. These were usually very casual affairs planned at the spur of the moment. There were never too many images for me to take in. I remember going to the home of a friend of my great aunt Eunice to watch their slide show of a recent trip to Europe. The husband had served in World War II and although he did not want to show his wife the Europe he had seen, he had been keen to go back and see Europe with her. The photos were so vibrant and bold. I still love slides for their crispness,
I have enjoyed the immediacy of Facebook and the photo albums people post. When my friend posted these photos, it’s possible she was still standing in the Senegalese surf.
That said, I miss the slide shows and the impromptu photo get-togethers of my past. It is a goal of mine this year to make my Dad pull out my grandmother’s slide reels for a “memory making” night with his children and grandchildren. My sisters and I made our grandmother show them to us at least once a year when we visited. She stored these treasures in the cabinets hidden in the side tables in her living room. I knew at a young age that they must be important if they weren’t relegated to the attic or basement. I can’t wait for my Dad’s stories to mingle with the stories she told.
If you’re looking for me that night, I’ll be the little girl sitting on the itchy wool carpet soaking it all in. And I’ll bet my toe-headed blonde sister will be by my side with wide eyes and open ears.
p.s. My friend, Brenda, is allowing me to post these to Pinterest. You will find them there, and the only trouble for me will be which board to tack them to. I doubt I stop at just one.
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I will never forget the many hours spent sitting in our grandparent’s Simmons home with the the albums spread across the long coffee table. And, flipping through the WWII album that our grandparent’s Price kept in the entertainment room in the basement. I believe one of the reasons I enjoy Instagram is because the square photos take me back to those albums.
Sloane: Thanks for bringing to mind the many evenings at my parents and grandparents watching slide shows as a child. My dad and grandfather both became interested in photography, especially in the 1950’s and 60’s, as my dad was in the Air Force and my grandfather and grandmother traveled while he worked for TWA. They enjoyed travel photography as well as family holidays and fishing trips to Minnesota. Afterwards we would all gather in my grandparents living room for a night of viewing slides. I hadn’t thought about photography and slide “shows”, but it was such a communal activity rather than a solitary one, different from a photo album or today’s digital experience. It was also an exercise in control when my grandfather would get miffed that the slide was in the carousel upside down or became jammed, neither to laugh nor sneak over and empty the candy bowl! I still treasure a lot of those slides and hope this year to finally get them printed or digitally transferred so I can enjoy them again. I will probably forego a few of the many photos of strings of fish, but there are some gems…picture a proper grandmother about 1962, dress and stockings and heels and pocketbook, cat eye glasses, barely cracking a smile, standing next to a native Hawaiian man wearing only a grass skirt in downtown Waikiki at Christmastime…good times.
Karen:
Your memory about the jammed slides and those installed poorly made me smile! A huge smile. These are really more than photos, they are family history in bright, crisp color.
Thank you for reading our blogs and for sharing your stories with me.
– sloane
Beautiful as always Sloane! It was a big deal at my grandparents’ house too. Slides and reel. I have some reels of my grandparents’ trip to Europe I haven’t had converted yet and you just prompted me to do that. These African images are gorgeous. Loved the one with her pursue good STUFF beach bag as well! Xo
Katie:
Brenda’s shots are pretty great. And, yeah, pursuing good stuff was what her trip was all about!
– sloane