MA-BAY-COLONY-L Archives

From: "Cyndy" <>
Subject: [Ma-Bay-Colony] Fw: SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE.........discussion ...photographs
Date: Mon, 4 Mar 2002 19:12:42 -0500
References: <200203042359.SAA26017@mail.coolgoose.com>

Oh...yes it was worth sharing.......in fact I am going to foward it
to my lists.....Ct-River-Valley and Ma-Bay-Colony

You can subscribe to the "Sunday Morning Coffee"....


Cynthia **
List Administrator for :
Ma-Bay-Colony-L
Ct-River-Valley-L
----- Original Message -----
From: "Donna Clendennon" <>
To: <>
Sent: Monday, March 04, 2002 6:59 PM
Subject: [RIGENWEB] Fw: SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE
> The following came from yesterday's Sunday Morning Coffee, a
newsletter I
> receive each week. I thought you might like reading this story since
it
> covers the subject of old photographs, something we are all involved
with
> sooner or later.
> > I'm sending this a lot of the lists I'm on, so if you get it twice,
I'm sorry.
> I just think the subject matter is worth sharing.
> ----- Original Message -----
> THE LOST
> Whoosshhhh!!
> She looked around. Where was she? People surrounded her for what
> seemed like miles and miles! Where in the world had they all come
> from? One minute she was alone, the next she was sitting amidst this
> huge crowd! There was no sky; there was no earth. What kept this
mass
> of people so closely grouped together?
>
> ....and the DUST! Whew! Between that and the overbearing pressure of
> the crowd, she felt as though she could hardly breath!
>
> Then she saw them, her family. There were her parents and all eleven
> siblings! Why, that's her as a young girl and there's her long-dead
> sister, a child again! Over there were her husband and eight
children!
> She looked around a little more and found a few of her aunts, uncles
and
> even some cousins! Everyone seemed to be there ~ a REUNION! Oh, yes!
>
> But there were also many, many people she didn't know. "Let's think
on
> the positive side of things, though," she thought. Just look at
> everyone she DID recognize!
>
> Look at her dad! He's so proud of his family! You can see his pride
by
> the way he stands, his shoulders thrown back. The long, hard years
of
> farming show in his weathered face. Her mother looks delicate in the
> face; those long skirts covering her frailness. She won't live much
> longer... the doctor said she shouldn't have had so many children.
>
> She noticed her two grandfathers by the oxen-pulled wagon. Both her
> grandmothers and both families' children were in it. She saw her
father
> as a boy! "Everyone is on their way to a Fourth of July community
> picnic," he'd once told her. To look at them their clothes weren't
the
> finest ~ rather plain actually. One grandfather wears a beaten up hat
> as proudly as though it were a gentleman's derby.
>
> And there!... there are six of her great-grandparents! Those people
> pioneered this area. Two pairs of those grandparents made their way
> over to America ~ one from Germany, the other from Ireland. Best
> friends, they are and what a combination of personalities they make.
> One of the great-grandmothers was even a handmaiden to the queen
herself
> before she got married! But they all died, the last one 17 years ago,
> wasn't it? How could they be here now?
>
> And just in front of her ... her mother had once told her they were
her
> great-great grandparents from the old country! They look a little
> smudged. How in the world could they be here in this crowd? They
look
> like they might be awfully warm in those heavy clothes. Her first
> impressions of them hadn't changed ~ he still looked friendly; she
still
> looked strict!
>
> What's going on? she wondered.
>
> See those two women over there? One is a cousin to her, the other
just
> an acquaintance. The two young women are best friends, so close you'd
> think they were sisters. They have their arms wrapped around each
> other. They once vied for the attentions of a young man, but she
> doesn't see him in the crowd. Did either of them marry that man?
>
> She looked at the two women more closely. Why does her cousin's
friend
> have that scar across her face? Her friend didn't have that before
> ....at least, it looks like a scar.
>
> Some of them had names, some didn't. She was one who didn't. Some
were
> in groups of full families, while others just one or several people.
> Some were dressed in their Sunday best; others in worn and ragged
> clothing used for working. The styles of dress of the children was as
> mixed as the adults they co-mingled with. The old, old gowns of some
of
> the the women ... how could this be? How could these people who had
> already passed on be here with all these younger people today? What
> kind of a reunion is this?
>
> Whooshhhh! She felt the cool air waft around her. It wasn't as
crowded
> anymore; the dust was still in the air but it wasn't as choking.
> Where'd everyone go? She felt as though she was being looked at.
>
> "This one doesn't have a name, either."
>
> Whooshhh! Back into the crowd again!
>
> This is crazy!
>
> Wait! Who is that? That woman who is standing with her hand on the
> man's shoulder as he sits? Who IS that???
>
> Her sister! It's her sister!
>
> It can't be. She died when a horse pulling a wagon ran over her 9
years
> ago! What a beautiful woman she was before she died. But she and her
> husband look so faded now...
>
> There wasn't a mirror to look in, but she knew the dress she was
wearing
> wasn't the one she had on earlier today. As a matter of fact, she
> hadn't worn this dress since she was 18!
>
> Dateline 2002: Antique Store, Any City, Any Country
>
> "These old pictures, just look at all of them ~ tintypes, sepia-tones
~
> all kinds! They sure are dusty! Some of them are in pretty bad
shape,
> too."
>
> "I know, it's such a pity that a lot of them don't have names.
They're
> from quite a few old estates. We just took all the pictures and stuck
> them in that box to get them out of the way. It's rare that anyone
> looks at them, but we have an occasional customer who looks through
> them. If we get too many more pictures though, we'll probably have to
> throw these out to make more room. We'll get rid of those unmarked
ones
> first."
>
> FINIS
>
> And so it goes, a dusty box of old pictures sits in yet another out of
> the way place in one of the world's antique shops (or maybe even a
flea
> market or garage sale). Some of the photographs may be marked with
> names, dates, places, and/or relationships; many aren't. Certainly,
all
> of the people in the box had life stories, most of which will never be
> known to future generations. If you haven't figured it out yet, "she"
> was one of the unmarked pictures in the box ~ one of the lost souls.
>
> I wonder how many of us will become one of the lost souls in yet
another
> dusty box of unmarked, unwanted, uncared-for photographic treasures.
> How many of our descendants will end up saying, "I haven't the
slightest
> idea who s/he is but s/he sure looks familiar!" Is that really what
you
> want, gentle reader? Are your pictures labeled? Will your
> grandparents, parents, sister, even YOU be known to your descendants
3-4
> generations from now?
>
> Obviously this was a work of fictional fantasy, for we KNOW that souls
> aren't really attached to pictures ...are they?
>
> ~~~
>
> If you want to subscribe send a blank email to
> <>.
>
> Donna
>
>
> ==== RIGENWEB Mailing List ====
> Washington County RIGenWeb
http://www.rootsweb.com/~riwashin/riwash.html
> Scans of Rhode Island Maps are at
http://www.rootsweb.com/~rigenweb/maps/
>
>
>

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• [Ma-Bay-Colony] Fw: SUNDAY MORNING COFFEE.........discussion ...photographs by "Cyndy" <>