Picture Perfect...

When I write, I think in images or snapshots of my characters. I am not the only one who does. A fellow writer and good friend recently told me, “People think I’m crazy when I tell them I see my characters as pictures in my mind.” She was shocked when I told her, "I do too." No, we are not seeing dead people! But how else would do you connect with your characters and make them real, unless you did?

I love taking pictures, I love getting pictures, and I especially love the old sepia and black & white photographs…

Nearly a year ago, my sister gave me a scanner that scans slides and negatives. I started scanning some old photo slides my husband and father-in-law took. Many of them I had forgotten or have never seen. They were negatives of the proofs my husband had taken when he had side photography business in the 80’s. Smiling faces of people, I didn’t recognize, all of them having their pictures taken to commemorate a special event. Among them were graduations, weddings, anniversaries, and sideline action sports shots taken for the local paper. Many of these faces are no longer with us. Some of them are still celebrating wedded bliss, while others are long divorced. Babies grew up with families of their own and the local jocks, if they still stayed in that small town are more than likely, over stressed workaholics trying to survive. I have never thrown away a picture, nor will I these, and I can’t even say I’ve cut someone I disliked out of one. Generally, those pictures end up in the bottom of an old shoebox, forgotten…

Today, we took one of our typical motorcycle outings to the mountains in search of a few new antique shops opposed to those we generally frequent. I roamed through the quaint little shops until something buried in a corner or pushed to the back of an old wardrobe cried out to me. I did not hear any voices beaconing to me today, but I was and am always attracted to old pictures and albums. My husband doesn’t ask me why I bother looking at old albums anymore, instead, he asks, “did you find something interesting?” He knows of my fascination with images and lets me amuse myself. “How sad,” I would say as my fingers touch the old photographs and try to find a connection with the pensive faces looking back at me. Did I ever mention how much it drives me crazy not to know the back-stories on many of the images I find? I love knowing the little details of human life and I am saddened why theses photos of families wearing their finest clothes were tossed. In the past, I have even purchased old photos because I felt a particular attachment to it, letting me be their surrogate family member.

I lingered a while longer looking at these photogenic faces and became conscious how fast the years flew by since women had no amountable rights. I smiled to myself and wondered how these thoughtful faces would react if they saw a middle aged woman wearing boots, a leather jacket and jeans, was staring back at them…