April 22nd, 2006

voted most improved

archival tendencies.

i have very few pictures from my childhood, much less candid shots of my family as a whole...

(l-r) pat, mom, me, dad (holding hildi?), pam, kim and eric. c.1967

so, when my sister-in-law dar passed this along to me (saved by my cousin tom) i found myself studying each minute detail - the body language, facial expressions, clothing and hair styles...even the reflection in the window. i'm desperately investigating a time that is forever gone. there's a part of me that wants to leap into this visual piece of evidence and retrieve the memories that have long since laid dormant in my mind.

when my parents divorced in the early 80's, i recall certain family members divvying up the household goods, almost as if my parents had died. being at the tender age of 15, i can tell you that family trinkets and heirlooms were the last thing on my mind. while my siblings bickered over who would get the monopoly game or gravy boat, i was wracked with hormones and worried about surviving alone with my dad and his soon to be new wife in their house clear across town.

i pass by my childhood house each and every time i visit iowa city.. a modest ranch house (painted barn red!), swimming in a sea of massive historical relics. i was ashamed of my house growing up, craving the character and mystic appeal of all my friend's older homes.

but, now i'd like to roam the halls of that house, smell the walls, touch the counters, walk on the creaky basement steps...see remnants of a family not yet interrupted.

so, i'll covet this photo, and any others i receive in the future..