Monday, May 14, 2012

Mental images

I have heard that it's a sign of old age when a person starts to reminisce about the past.  I am not that old, but I have moments when I think about some of the most striking images that I have held in my mind.  These are good memories but mostly they are scenes that I can still remember as sparkling moments of beauty.

I want to share a few of them in photos, but it is hard to get the full impact without all the senses being involved.  Anyway, here is what I can best come up with:

Behind the home place where I grew up, there were woods and fields.  I would travel through the woods whenever I got a chance.  One day, I came upon a knoll overlooking a hay field.  The sun was starting to sink so part of the field was bathed in shadows while the rest had a glowing light.  I was stunned by the simple beauty of the light.  This became a special place for me to visit.  It soothed me when I was sad, giving comfort to an often confused teen.  I went back to this field when I was in college and was stunned to see that the hayfield had been changed into patio homes.  It made an important statement to me about the importance of green spaces and open land.

Another photo that I keep in my head is the blooming of rows of daffodils in the fields and woods around the old home place.  The town where I grew up was called the Daffodil Capitol, and these spring flowers were grown all around the town.  As the fields became overgrown with woods,  the old bulbs would keep producing flowers.  I would go into the forest and marvel at how the bulbs were still in rows beneath the trees that had grown up around them.  My mother would ask me to cut a bouquet for the house so we frequently had fresh flowers regularly in the spring from these ancient bulbs.


Another mental photo that I carry is from the winter snow falls.  I can clearly remember waking on a school day, looking out the window and seeing everything blanketed in white.  As soon as I could, I would have on boots, snow pants and a heavy coat and would be out in the snow.  It seemed magical to look towards the sky and see the flakes falling down.  My little world would be quiet and soft. (The photo above is of the "court green" in my home town.)


And then there was the water which was part of my life then and remains so now.  I remember one day in particular when the light was nearly blue and the water sparkled like a million diamonds were on it.  I had just met the woman that I was to marry and the beauty of the moment seemed to heighten all the senses.  The French call this time at twilight "l'heure bleue" because the light is so exceptional.  I just called it magical. 

And then there were early mornings on the river, getting up before sun rise to be on the water early to catch just the right tide.  The mental picture I hold is one of me with my father in his boat.  Just a boy and his father on the river, seeing the sun come up, smelling the salt air, and feeling the happiness of a day on the water. 

Fall is my favorite season and the falls when I was in Virginia were filled with a profusion of color.  I can see the old Virginia mountains that I would hike through during weekends in fall.  Walking up hills to find meadows where I would pitch a tent for the night, the mountains were light and dark, mysterious and deep.  I met some interesting people on those hikes, and I can still see them against the back drop of the Blue Ridge in my mind's eye. 
And then there is the imagery of Camden Harbor where my wife and I vacationed over a decade ago.  We had climbed up Mount Battie and arrived at the top to get a breathtaking view of the harbor and town.  It was another one of those moments that sticks with you, embedding in your mind.  We simply sat on a rock and put our arms around each other, taking it all in.  

I hope that I won't be a sentimental old fool when I grow old.  As hard as I try to photograph the beautiful moments that we share today, I know that I cannot truly capture the feeling of those moments with a camera.  It is something that will hopefully stay with me in my head to be recalled with great happiness many years from now. 

27 comments:

  1. Syd, this was beautiful. Its easy to see why these memories have stayed with you. Hmmm, I kind of think you'd make a good sentimental old fool :)

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  2. What's wrong with being a sentimental old fool?

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  3. I agree with vicariousrising- What IS wrong with being a sentimental old fool? Because then you share these things with us and we are all a bit richer for them.

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  4. nice...i dont mind these reminischings at all...i grew up with woods out back as well...they tore them down to put in a beer distribution plant...go figure...and snow days were def the best...

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  5. I'm with vicarious. The more sentimental the better.

    These are some really powerful images and I love that you shared them. I am incredibly visual and try to keep my home environment as interesting and colorful as possible so that my kids have a strong memory of what Mom was like when they were growing up. My daughter just blew my heart wide open one day when she gestured to the living room (shortly after moving in to the new house) and said, "This reminds me of you." I asked her what she meant and she didn't have the words to explain it. She just meant that my style of living is something that she associates only with me. I hope that remains a vivid picture in her head.

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  6. The older we get, the more memories we have. That's just a natural thing, eh?

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  7. Oh Syd - - -

    I guess - I know - that I am a sentimental old fool. I felt the tenderness you expressed in this blog so keenly, I am crying. Your memories sparked several in my own memory-bank, especially the picture of those daffodils, and the knowledge that autumn is your favorite season. These two things you mentioned triggered a plethora of tender memories.

    In fact, if I feel homesick, or just a big sad, I go back to this place inside of me, and allow my HP to soothe me back to the presnt.

    Thank you so much for sharing your memory-spirit.

    Hugs and Love,
    Anonymous #1

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  8. I love to reminisce too - especially about the beautiful places we've been - much like the places in your photos. Great pictures!

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  9. That post moved me to tears - I grew up in New Hampshire and have no one left there - the photographs are stunning, and could be my home as well - the harder I struggle in al-anon the more painful it is for me to look back and remember - but I appreciate your blog so much - thank you.

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  10. Remember "American Beauty" when Keven Spacey replays his life just before he dies. Not to be macabre, but we all (should) have unforgettable pictures in our head that go along with the memories.

    I once read we remember more of our youth when we get older..but I can't remember why. You are a scientist, perhaps you can figure it out!

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  11. These are beautiful photos and several reminded me of my own favourite places and times, even though my pictures are all in my head, not on film.

    I see a difference between tender sentimentality and outright mawkishness. I think you will always be in the former category, not least because of your self-awareness :)

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  12. What beautiful memories and photos. Kind of like that Jim Croce song "Photographs and Memories"....I agree with all previous commenters, there is nothing wrong with being a sentimental old fool. There are many worse things to be...xoxo

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  13. I loved this Syd. Beautiful photos and memories. When I was little we drove by hay fields like your top photo and I always *told* my mom that it was a horse cemetery. I was certain of it.

    You are so right about the human race needing wild spaces to roam and explore in. I recently walked in a housing tract while Lu was in an art class in a nearby park. There was a big pond perfect for exploring and catching tadpoles (and releasing lol,) watching the birds...BU it had a big black iron fence all around it. All I could think about was "how do the kids get in there to explore?" It was disturbing and made me grateful for my country life where my kids have played freely amongst natures miracles.

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  14. Hi Syd,

    Love the images. They are beautiful and great memories to have. Thanks for sharing!

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  15. I have been on the concrete to long.

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  16. Thanks for sharing your images and memories. I took a minute to remember some of mine. It's nice to have mental images attached to memories.

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  17. I think a sentimental old fool can be quite charming.

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  18. Beautiful images and the stories that go with them -- I treasure memories and the landscape around us.

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  19. Syd, when I was a little girl my parents took us several times to visit a farm in Radford. It's all the way across the state from your home place but it's in the foothills of the Blue Ridge, and I'll never forget the beauty of that farm, the livestock in the fields, the skimmers on the water in the springhouse, the smell of pure country. Virginia is a gentle landscape, and how fortunate you were to grow up right across the channel from some of the earliest colonial settlements. The gentleness has formed your spirit. ... And I love Camden too. But I love Belfast more! about 20 miles north of Camden. love /G

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  20. Most amazing photo's!! They bring in all five senses! Reminds me of how incredible the world around us really is and even just a short journey outside can soothe the mind. Good reminder of how we should tune into those senses and allow ourselves to feel good and breathe. Life is bigger than we know, so many things to do and I don't want to waste a single second.

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  21. Being sentimental can be a good quality to possess, I think.

    Sometimes, when I am taking pictures, I get frustrated because I can't capture the exact essence of the moment. It is then that I have to remind myself that the picture is really only there to support the memory that I have of that one moment in time. That reminder helps.

    Your pictures do an awesome job, though, especially paired with the way you tell your stories.

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  22. You don't have to be old to be sentimental...being sober sure helps though ! I'd assume the same goes for the Alanon.
    Your pictures are lovely ... I especially liked the snow scene.

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  23. I'm okay with the sentimentality. I just hope that I won't be boring everyone with my endless reminiscing about the good ole days. It seems that the older a person gets, the more life is lived in the past. I don't want to do that.

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  24. These pictures go beautifully with the story of your life.

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  25. I believe this is one of my favorite posts!!! Thank you for sharing the images in your mind! What a treat! I can relate to trying to capture those moments with the camera. I LOVE the peacefulness you are experience lately. So happy for you!

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