Times change, without a
doubt. As technology made photographs
more accessible and cheap, every family documented big events. Burgeoning photo albums showed the styles of
the 1960s and the 1970s. Silly hair
styles and mini-skirts were part of the albums.
Movie cameras shrank from complicated monsters with four blinding headlights to hand-held quiet 8 mm cameras, capturing
the silliness of my era.
We were the hippy generation, the
postwar baby boomers. Long
straight hair and ‘hot pants’ were the style; leisure suits were for dressing up. We documented our life
together with photo and film.
Because we were diligent in
recording our history and obsessive about keeping those films, we have a new
position in the minds of our grown children:
We are their source of INFINITE
JEST.
At Christmas 2012, I arranged to
transfer a big box of 8 mm film to DVD, with my narration and background
music. I don’t know what reaction I
expected.
What we did get were peals of laughter, OMG-dad-you-were-such-a-geek, and
LOL-mom-you-were-so-hot.
Our grandchildren will have hours
of diversion and entertainment with our visual legacy to our progeny.
Hours and hours of infinite jest.
