I prefer not to share photos of my immediate family online, and of course today will be no exception. I don’t like the idea of making them vulnerable like that. Who knows what sort of jerkoff “Haha look at these people” website the photos could end up on. I was just sent a photo from my mom that would be a candidate for such modern-day ridicule.
It’s a photo of myself, my sister, and mom and dad from late-1978. I was a baby, my sister was 3, and my parents were in their 30's. It was found in a pile of photos by an old family friend whose wife just passed away. It’s vintage 1970’s, right down to my dad’s glasses, my mom’s top, and the faded retro look of the background. The three of them look very happy, and I look completely spaced out. It made me tear up a little.
I thought about how innocent that group of people were. I thought about how in less than 10 years, my mom and I would both suffer greatly from anxiety and depression, but not know what to call it. I thought about how in 1995, that little body of mine that was so painstakingly protected would be crushed in a car accident. I thought about how my parents are in their 70's now, thought about the amount of time passed, and thought about how these little pieces of our lives are just floating out there in history.
I also thought about a photo I recently saw online. It was of a guy from Alabama - him and his friend as kids, sitting on a bed together with a large keyboard, both wearing sunglasses and pretending to be rockers, or just cool dudes. The photo looked like it probably came from the mid-80’s. I happened upon the photo, because I saw this person make an obnoxious pro-Trump comment on Facebook, and randomly decided to scroll through his pictures. Amidst all of his misguided and ugly bullcrap, there was that photo shining brightly.
It made me a little sad, this photo. This asshole was once like the rest of us, a playful innocent little dope, before they got fucked up. Not that we shouldn’t be angry or even dismissive with this person and his ilk. It was just a reminder that with the exception of the Trump family themselves, we should take a moment to think about each other’s humanity before wishing the other would just die. I just wanted to write that out before I forget about it tomorrow.