Nostalgia

A sentimental longing or wistful affection for the past. That’s what can happen when you stumble onto a long lost treasure in your parents garage. I was putting my mom’s Christmas decorations away when I came across a Kodak Carousel slide projector and around 1000 slides from the 70’s. My dad had started transferring the slides to VHS years ago, but only got a couple of years done. The old projector had quit, and he got distracted with other projects, so there it sat. Thanks to the internet, I found the parts, and for $17 and a little ingenuity, I was in business.

When the fan began to whir and the light came on I was transported back to my youth, which come to find out, was not a spectacular season for fashion, but was filled with a wonderful cast of characters and some amazing adventures.

Let’s start with my brothers. I have promised not to use any of the pictures under threat of extreme duress. They graduated in ’71, ’72, ’74, and ’79. Haircuts were optional and the colors were BOLD. They owned an array of checkered, plaid, paisley, striped, and crazily patterned pants, shirts, sweaters and sport coats. In the winter, anyway, because summer on the farm in the 70’s only short, short cut offs were required. They were some thin, yet tanned lads back in the day. I can only be thankful that I was youngest and could blame mom for dressing me. Although, it appeared that I only had two shirts through most of grade school.

Friends and family seemed to be in every frame. That’s how it should be and that’s really how I remember it. There were pictures of birthday parties, Christmases, reunions, anniversaries, baptisms, weddings and more. Community events like the Fall Festival and County Fair were huge highlights and brought a flood of memories. Laughter was certainly a theme throughout, and I’m thankful for that. I know it’s not that way all the time, but it makes for better memories seeing smiling faces.

One of the more noticeable changes was the farm. It’s a lot like watching your children grow. You see them every day and don’t notice that they’re getting taller and maturing. A friend can show up and say, “Wow, they’ve grown so much.” The farm is that way. I’ve lived here 50 years and hadn’t put much thought into the transformations. The trees grew. The buildings changed colors and new ones popped up. The neighborhood has developed and more people drive by.

The sunsets and sunrises, storms(snow, rain, and hail) and rainbows, and cranes and geese, haven’t changed. My mom made sure we knew that, because she photographed them all. The corn, wheat, and cows along with the cold and hot seemed to remain constant.

I’ll be honest. I did get a little wistful and sentimental. Mostly, looking at the faces. I miss my dad. I love to see him young and in the middle of all the stories I tell. I miss my brother and feel bad he didn’t have the opportunity to grow old. I could close my eyes and hear the voices of aunts, uncles, and grandparents who have been gone for years, but were suddenly close again. All this from some simple slides, stored away in the garage for ages.

Break out some old pictures this weekend. Grab those photos, slides, super 8’s, or even the new fangled VHS’s and stir up some wonderful memories (fashion optional).