05-12-16 Bowling

By Scott Shephard

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I posted a photo a couple weeks ago that elicited several responses amongst my facebook friends. It was called "Memories for Sale." Today I am posting two photos taken back in the late 1960s by an anonymous photographer that captures my mom and dad in great form.

In looking for photos to decorate my mom's new room in the nursing home she has moved to, my sister found these and stuck them up on the bulletin board. When I visited my mom this past weekend, they were one of the first things I noticed. I didn't have access to a scanner so I simple took photos of the photos. Thus, the quality isn't all that great. But to me, the great subjects make up for that.

05-03-09 Memories For Sale

By Scott Shephard

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After my father died and my mother decided to move to an assisted living center a few years later, she sold the house in which I had grown up and held an auction for its contents. I was present at the auction and although I wasn't sad that day, I am saddened now when I look at the photos I took. If you could imagine all of the things that decorated the walls and stood on the shelves being boxed and then, with any luck, sold for a dollar or two, maybe you can understand my sadness.

This box of bowling trophies won by my mom and dad was one of three that was up for auction. No one even bid on them and I suppose they were thrown away. I guess there is no market for old bowling trophies. But when I look at these, there are so many things that I recall about the bowling leagues my parents participated in, the times I hung out at the bowling alley and the friends my parents knew through bowling.

For me, this picture is the most personal and powerful photo I have posted in this blog. I'm guessing most of you will look at it and wonder what the big deal is. . . .