So excited this piece found its way into print. What an added treat to give the reader the photo too, though the description was vivid enough for my mind’s eye. Bravo!
I never got around to getting my life in slides digitized. Sadly, they all went into the trash when I got evicted from my home of 35 yrs in 9/23. My precious young adult life filled with friends, love, and life adventures.
Oooph..Dianne, that is a loss. I am sorry you had to suffer that. This is not intended as a consolation, but something I learned–wandering a junk store once I came upon a baggie of someone's black and white photos. This was in Florida. Likely the unclaimed stuff from someone's bedside table at a nursing home-that is what I imagined. But the photos became a kind of history I didn't have but could imagine. There is one picture of a trio of three women in western cattle farmer gear, all in a row, with lipstick on...and I have always wanted to fashion a backstory for that image. Thank you for reading my work here. xosbb
As an avid collector and vintage quilt dealer, I trolled shops, fairs, and antique shows across the country for years and often found photos of people who entered my home as "long, lost relatives."
I once remember telling my friend, Tom, to please make sure pictures of me and mine never suffered such a fate.
Losing those slides was my fault, as I knew the eviction was coming. The subsequent clearing of my life possessions paralyzed me.
Please write those women's stories.
PS I did find a photo of my great aunt milking a cow. I sent it to her nephew.
this is such a potent piece of writing! the veritable trove of that archive of images, another way to see & know the people you come from, the clan you are a part of. the details a glorious portal, a window in.
thank you for sharing it & thanks you open secrets for publishing this gem.
Wow. So fab, Sooz. Lovely light touch on this writing, observance. A such a great shot. And, a little wild, I’ll try to find some images of my skinny pop back int the day…but they def share a similar vibe…. Love you. Love this.
Great, Suzi! I resonate so much with the photograph looking as we try to untangle the puzzle of our pasts. This is beautifully written you had me thinking of the drawer I used to dig through and the round cabinet of photos that kept me busy many a summer afternoon. I have many of those photos now, too, and just like you wrote so engagingly, study them looking for answers.
Thank you C. We cannot escape the ways our parent's stories intermingle with ours. It is at those tight spots, the crossing points, that my attention goes. I discovered a packet of negatives yesterday-I have inherited other family member's collections–so I'll see what that trove reveals. Thank you for reading! xos
I find I am now at an age where I have a deep curiosity about my parents’ lives before they were my parents, yet anyone who could satisfy that curiosity is gone. Your piece captures the wonder of discovering a piece of the man your father was, while also deepening the mystery. Such good details — thank you for sharing this with us.
Thank you Kathy. But the question remains, who took that photograph? In that row of slides of the hunting trip, there was no 2026 twin shot of the guys grinning into the camera. When did posing become such a habit? Another image of my dad from that trip shows him stirring a pot of something on an electric burner with an absolutely passive look on his face. Drunk? Tired? Did not care about the photograph? One of the gifts of having no one to set us straight on the facts is invention, I guess. Too bad I am not much of a fiction writer. Thank you for reading and commenting! xoxoxs
I, too, have been taking a deep dive into my father's slides. You're lucky to have digitized them. I'm glad to know this, now I've got to figure out how to do it and where! I love the photo you chose for this essay, too.
Thank you Lani. I learned from a kind neighbor who loaned me their Epson scanner which has a setting to scan negatives or slides. The application that you can load onto your computer allows you to edit the images a bit, which is helpful. My cousin who is digitizing scads of family slides uses a protocol from the National Archives to guide which slides to keep or toss or edit and restore. It is a world of detail that you decide how much to engage with. For now, I am scanning, looking, deciding, naming the files and that is about it. Since my father was such an illusive character, not many family members have interest. But I do. The task requires some preparation, but there is much to discover. Also, (you didn't ask for this but I am full of suggestions...) some libraries have stuff like scanners you can check out in their "library of things." xoxos
These rich details! Wow. So many of us can relate to finding/keeping/storing slides and pictures from our parents. Funny, I was on my way to the garage to begin the task of sorting out my parents slides, but I decided to check my email first, which is how I ended up here. I had no idea we could digitize slides! Thank you for opening the box and letting me in!
You are most welcome Dhana. I commented to Lani, above, about the process of scanning. It is a giant task, but one that you can take a little at a time. Slides are not supposed to be put in the regular trash, at least in my town, they can only be disposed of on hazardous waste collection day. I hope you let yourself in to the project, at least a little. Who knows what you might learn? Thank you for reading! xos
what a beautiful case of snapshots this piece is--
Thank you Janet. For all these years of gazing through them it is a relief to think about them on the page. xos
Suzi,
So excited this piece found its way into print. What an added treat to give the reader the photo too, though the description was vivid enough for my mind’s eye. Bravo!
Thank you Stephanie. Just puts a new lens on a figure four pose for me. What else could my toes hold? Thank you for reading! xos
Such a rich, detailed piece.
I never got around to getting my life in slides digitized. Sadly, they all went into the trash when I got evicted from my home of 35 yrs in 9/23. My precious young adult life filled with friends, love, and life adventures.
Oooph..Dianne, that is a loss. I am sorry you had to suffer that. This is not intended as a consolation, but something I learned–wandering a junk store once I came upon a baggie of someone's black and white photos. This was in Florida. Likely the unclaimed stuff from someone's bedside table at a nursing home-that is what I imagined. But the photos became a kind of history I didn't have but could imagine. There is one picture of a trio of three women in western cattle farmer gear, all in a row, with lipstick on...and I have always wanted to fashion a backstory for that image. Thank you for reading my work here. xosbb
As an avid collector and vintage quilt dealer, I trolled shops, fairs, and antique shows across the country for years and often found photos of people who entered my home as "long, lost relatives."
I once remember telling my friend, Tom, to please make sure pictures of me and mine never suffered such a fate.
Losing those slides was my fault, as I knew the eviction was coming. The subsequent clearing of my life possessions paralyzed me.
Please write those women's stories.
PS I did find a photo of my great aunt milking a cow. I sent it to her nephew.
I love your writing Suzi. I can feel your love and longing for your father.
Thank you for reading me here Laurie! xos
Loved all the images you created with your beautiful words and all the real images that tell your father’s story. ❤️
Thank you Andrea. It was at your suggestion during co-write that I worked on this to submit. I so appreciate your generosity. xos
suzi,
this is such a potent piece of writing! the veritable trove of that archive of images, another way to see & know the people you come from, the clan you are a part of. the details a glorious portal, a window in.
thank you for sharing it & thanks you open secrets for publishing this gem.
thank you miss p! i appreciate you reading me here, and always. xosbb
Suzi - thank you for sharing this slice of your life with such rich word and photo imagery. It brought me right along with you.
Thank you SBS! Xos
Wow. So fab, Sooz. Lovely light touch on this writing, observance. A such a great shot. And, a little wild, I’ll try to find some images of my skinny pop back int the day…but they def share a similar vibe…. Love you. Love this.
Thank you DHJ! I bet you have some skinny intense pop images. Thank you for stopping in here to read. Much love, sbb
Suzi, I very much sense your range of mixed emotions in this piece, and my heart feels for you. XOXO
Thank you for reading me here Bobbie! I know we both share an affinity for the stories photographs tell! xosbb
What a gift to have those images. He sounds and looks like a cool dad.
Thank you Jennifer. I keep looking at the images of the French town he was in with the woman. I want to print a few to look at them more closely. xos
My mom's dad had an English girlfriend when he was over there during WWII, apparently.
Such a lovely glimpse into the many-years process of claiming this tiny photographic inheritance from your father’s life. I’m so glad you shared this!
"a tiny photographic inheritance" TITLE ALERT! Thank you JGL. You have seen this work evolve! Thank you for reading! xos
Great, Suzi! I resonate so much with the photograph looking as we try to untangle the puzzle of our pasts. This is beautifully written you had me thinking of the drawer I used to dig through and the round cabinet of photos that kept me busy many a summer afternoon. I have many of those photos now, too, and just like you wrote so engagingly, study them looking for answers.
Thank you C. We cannot escape the ways our parent's stories intermingle with ours. It is at those tight spots, the crossing points, that my attention goes. I discovered a packet of negatives yesterday-I have inherited other family member's collections–so I'll see what that trove reveals. Thank you for reading! xos
I find I am now at an age where I have a deep curiosity about my parents’ lives before they were my parents, yet anyone who could satisfy that curiosity is gone. Your piece captures the wonder of discovering a piece of the man your father was, while also deepening the mystery. Such good details — thank you for sharing this with us.
Thank you Kathy. But the question remains, who took that photograph? In that row of slides of the hunting trip, there was no 2026 twin shot of the guys grinning into the camera. When did posing become such a habit? Another image of my dad from that trip shows him stirring a pot of something on an electric burner with an absolutely passive look on his face. Drunk? Tired? Did not care about the photograph? One of the gifts of having no one to set us straight on the facts is invention, I guess. Too bad I am not much of a fiction writer. Thank you for reading and commenting! xoxoxs
Another observation: no one glued to a cellphone or tablet or laptop. Just booze, cigarettes, a book, a guitar … a different age!
I, too, have been taking a deep dive into my father's slides. You're lucky to have digitized them. I'm glad to know this, now I've got to figure out how to do it and where! I love the photo you chose for this essay, too.
Thank you Lani. I learned from a kind neighbor who loaned me their Epson scanner which has a setting to scan negatives or slides. The application that you can load onto your computer allows you to edit the images a bit, which is helpful. My cousin who is digitizing scads of family slides uses a protocol from the National Archives to guide which slides to keep or toss or edit and restore. It is a world of detail that you decide how much to engage with. For now, I am scanning, looking, deciding, naming the files and that is about it. Since my father was such an illusive character, not many family members have interest. But I do. The task requires some preparation, but there is much to discover. Also, (you didn't ask for this but I am full of suggestions...) some libraries have stuff like scanners you can check out in their "library of things." xoxos
Thanks so much, Suzi. I appreciate the detailed answer. It will be one of the projects I do when I’m back at my mom’s place.
Suzi, after reading so many of your memoirs about your Dad, it is wonderful to meet him almost face to face. Thanks for sharing this piece.
Thank you Sue Q! You of all people have a growing mosaic of my father. Thank you for reading me in all the ways you do. xos
These rich details! Wow. So many of us can relate to finding/keeping/storing slides and pictures from our parents. Funny, I was on my way to the garage to begin the task of sorting out my parents slides, but I decided to check my email first, which is how I ended up here. I had no idea we could digitize slides! Thank you for opening the box and letting me in!
You are most welcome Dhana. I commented to Lani, above, about the process of scanning. It is a giant task, but one that you can take a little at a time. Slides are not supposed to be put in the regular trash, at least in my town, they can only be disposed of on hazardous waste collection day. I hope you let yourself in to the project, at least a little. Who knows what you might learn? Thank you for reading! xos
This is so gorgeous - and thank you for the mention too ✨🙏🏼💖
Thank you Livvi. xos