Captain's Log - Day 9 - This is Your Life

                    

Good Morning Friends -

Are you settled in to your new home office for the long haul? Have you been working on house projects that you never seem to find the time to do? Have you been getting out for some fresh air and sunshine? We are all worried about physical health but I think our metal health is just as important and will have a lasting impact on the rest of our lives.

  

I’m still working on my photo sorting project. Last night I was reliving so may fantastic memories and thought “this is your life.” All my loved ones, friends, family, places I’ve been, all right here in these boxes of pictures. Digital is great and it certainly takes less time, space and money but most of our photos stay trapped on our computers or phones after we text or email them to a few people. There’s something about holding a physical picture just like holding a real paper book. It’s not the same as looking on a screen. We no longer have to be selective about how many photos we take as long as we have enough storage on our devices or in the cloud. We can take thousands in the matter of minutes. Back in the day, we only got 12, 24 or 36 pictures to a roll so we had to use them wisely or carry a big stash of film (which I always did). Not only was it expensive for film and developing but you would then have to hold your breath as you opened the developed photos after waiting over a week just hoping you were lucky enough to get a few really good shots. I’m sure many of you have never even had to load or change a roll of film. Yes, I know, I’m old.

 

I remember being at a Boston Celtics/Chicago Bulls game that went into triple overtime. It was a battle between Larry Bird and Michael Jordan. I was able to sneak down to the court and sit down next to the row of photographers with my camera/zoom lens in hand. The sad part was that I had already run out of film so I was just pretending to take pictures. These pictures were from a different game but probably my last pictures of Michael Jordan in the Boston Garden:

 

   

 

Does anyone remember the show “This is Your Life”? It was before my time, I’m not that old, but I remember seeing reruns of it. At the start of each episode, the host of the show would surprise a mystery guest (typically a celebrity of some kind). Consulting the series' trademark red book, the guest is told that "This is your life!" and is then transported to a previously-prepared television studio. As the host recounted important events in the person's life, the guest was reunited with family members, old friends, and other important figures from their past and present.

              

 

The subjects of This is Your Life were kept in the dark until they were on a live TV where every little detail of their lives might be examined. It's not hard to believe that some of them were bound to be a bit unhappy about the situation. Some of the subjects found out about the show in advance and flat out refused to appear. The show was not without concern about what the shock of being brought to a live show might do to an unsuspecting guest. However, most of the subjects relaxed after the initial shock and enjoyed meeting friends, acquaintances, and relatives that they hadn't seen in a long time. Imagine seeing your fifth grade teacher who helped you with a reading problem when you were ten years old, or an Aunt who took your family in during the depression? Or who you spent time with in isolation during the virus pandemic? Or someone who you saved from drowning when you were 20-years-old and they were 4-years-old? Or the casting director who gave you your first job in show business thirty years ago?

Would you be happy to be the subject of “This is Your Life”? What would your “Red Book” say? Ten or twenty years from now, what will you remember about the corona virus pandemic of 2020? Will you remember the difficulties of getting toilet paper or will you remember having the opportunity to slow down and spend time with your family? Will you have developed a new skill or found a new passion now that you have more time in your day not having to commute? What do you think you will remember about these days? I’m hoping I’ll remember how we all eventually realized that we had to do what was necessary to save lives. The sooner we all socially isolate the sooner we’ll be able to get back to socializing again. It’s hard to believe just a few short weeks ago we were all happy to be staring at our screens and now that that is pretty much all we can do, we want to get out and connect in person. I am thankful for the technology we have so we can at least stay connected through the screens. My friend’s company even started having social gatherings by video conference just to see each other face to face safely through a screen. As much as we may be isolated, we are not alone.  

Take care my friends. Have a great day and, as always, please let me know if you need help with anything.

Hang in there. We can do this!

Stay connected but

PS. Sorry for being so late with today’s log but I had some actual work to do which has to take priority. I’ve already gotten a few e-mails asking “Are you ok? Haven’t heard from you this morning. I look forward to your emails in the morning!  Just checking that you are all right.” Glad you are enjoying these and thanks for checking in on me. You guys are the best!!!

Peace out my friends.