Times Past

I get really melancholy about the past. History distorts the past and loses the foundations-- the people. The people from the past are the real historians. They lived back then: their comfort and suffering is one of the largest things of interest to us-- even if we don't realize it. In October of 2004, I lost my second to last link to the past. I have a great aunt of that vintage and I should spent more time with her. The Library of Congress has released a series of photos-- color photos of people from the 30's and 40s'. They show the mundanes lives of people from this era. I think each of them is more signifigant that the flag raising of Iwo Jima-- after all, almost everyone has dinner and smiles for the camera. I think it's very humbling to see they photos. Get rid of the circus folk who think they're fashionable. Get rid of the idiots with cellphones. They remainder look the same from generation to generation. What we miss from these photos are the people's stories: how things are the same even when everything seems to change. If we lose that detail we think we're the only generation to have hatred and suffering; the only ones to experience loss and misdirection; the only ones to worry about tomorrow or believe the end is nigh. If you want to see how people lived their lives in the past: check them out.