Travel Photos

Remember years ago bringing home 'film' from vacation trips. I even can recall the anxiety of going out to buy film before leaving on a trip. How many rolls to buy? How many could I afford? What if I ran out? Do you remember rationing your photos - only 12 or 24 pictures on a roll? Do I really need to take this picture; can I save the film in case; what if a better photo op comes along and I'm out of film? In 1972, the Pocket Instamatic, with film cartridges, came into our marketplace, just in time for me to begin my world travels. This easy loading camera was a real miracle then!
110 film cartridges were all the rage. I don't remember how much one cartridge cost, do you? But I clearly remember how easy it was to take this camera and its film on trips. It was a new day, an incredible invention, and all of a sudden people could take more pictures than ever before. No more heavy cameras that were unwieldy and hard to manipulate especially if you had to load film. For my generation, this was akin to everyone running around today with cell phones that take pictures.

The difference though was the wait. Finishing the roll. Taking it to Walgreens. Filling out film envelopes. Or mailing the roll off to get developed. The anticipation when your pictures were in. The anxious fun of it all. Getting the 6" x 8" envelope in the mail. The decision to open it then or just hold it. Yes, just hold the envelope for awhile to enjoy the glory of what was inside. The thrill of lifting each photo, one at a time, saying to a friend or nosy family member, "Don't jump ahead. I get to see them first!" And, even the sadness of blurry pics or a ruined roll. Browned out pictures, like a thumb had been over the camera lens. Lost vacation. Oh, the ruin. Even the drama of ruined photos was memory making.

Clearly, ours was a generation of delayed satisfaction. Maybe that's how we learned patience and the art of waiting and the joy of arrival. Perhaps that's why we, or at least I, wasn't as great at imparting these skill sets to my daughters. They've never been told not to make a phone call because, "It's long distance." Between beepers, car phones, and PDA's, they weren't ever really far from me. I remember the codes we had for my beeper. 911 meant, 'Mom, call, it's important.' 911911 meant, 'Mom, CALL NOW!' For them, getting a car was part of growing up, in some ways more for Mom's convenience than theirs, it was just another life step, not a dream come true. Same with so many things. Health care. We always had insurance and going to a doctor at the first sign of any illness was rote. Go in. Get fixed. Move on.

Now, I look at the world they are adulting into and as angry as I am that we haven't solved many USA challenges, perhaps I'm more upset with me, myself, just I. Have I taught them the right life skills? Prepared them to handle tough things? Given them backbone and assertiveness and drive and the passion to get it done!

Maybe we should never have given into digital photos....what do you think?


Marcia's advice for today: Nothing in life is instamatic.

Marcia's 'listen to' song for today: For My Family by The Devil Makes Three