Of course, we have to start with Monday, though, and Monday brings my Snapshot story reveal. Check out the prompt post and the other stories attached to it.
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Paper Thin
"Do I have to?" I grumbled, looking at the small bungalow my mom had driven to.
"Zip it," she answered, her hands gripping the wheel as she ordered me out with her eyes.
Aunt Stacy was in the attic when I walked in, so I hollered to let her know I was there and plopped on the couch. Humming my favorite hymn, I pulled out my phone to take my aggression out on some pigs who would need false teeth when I was done with them.
When Stacy came into the living room, she was covered in dust from her pinned up hair to her peacock print tank, all the way down to the dragging hem of her washed-out jeans. She had a box propped up on a curvy hip, tipped out away from her body as if she didn't want to touch it any more than she had to.
"Do you want to help me with something?" No, I thought, but got up anyway.
Outside, a bonfire had been started. Stacy dropped the box onto a small table, giving me a shaky smile before she ripped it open and started throwing the contents into the flames.
I took small steps toward the box. It was filled with glossy photos, some in their full 3x5 size, others just a thin piece, obviously cut from the bigger photo.
"There were some I wanted to keep," Stacy explained when she saw me with one of the thin pieces. Uncle Steve - now just Steve, was the object of each piece of kindling. "Go ahead. Throw it in."
We threw piles in, flipped a few in, then had contests on who could get the most in Frisbee-style.
"I have to figure out what to do with the ones on my computer," she sighed.
"I'll help you Photoshop them," I offered. Stacy's grin was brilliant. I was beginning to be glad I'd come.
I reached in to grab a photo with Uncle - I mean, just Steve in a car, head in his hand with a pair of dolls in the back seat. I showed Stacy, raising my brow in question. Her lips pursed."Steve always thought he was smarter than everyone else. He put these dolls in his back seat so he could drive in the carpool lane. This is the day he got caught." The photo fed the fire.
"This is kind of cool," I announced as we watched what was left of the photos curl and ash. "I don't have any photos to do this to. It's much more therapeutic than just pressing delete."
Stacy's laugh started with a startled squeak, then settled into a desperate chuckle. I put my arm around her waist and leaned in. Though she took my weight, I had the feeling I was holding her up.
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Do you still print your photos? What part of having to print photos do you miss most?
Cute, I can't say I've ever burned photos though. Printed photos are great because you can frame them and pass them around a table. Computer ones take up less space but everyone in the room has to crowd around the computer to see it. Albums I keep on a shelf, .jpegs are on sdcards in my partner's office and I never know which card has what. I suppose their are pros and cons to both. Personally I'm too lazy to drive to the packed mall to get photos printed, so ill stick to unlabelled sd cards. I thought the angry birds analogy was cute, it gave the story a bit of a time stamp.
ReplyDeleteWe just pass the phones around the table to share photos, or throw them up on our TV. It's crazy what technology is out there these days. I've never burned photos, either, but I know girls who have.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Angry Birds note, I try not to date writing so specifically, but I was struggling with 'false teeth' (if you can't tell) and that helped.
That Steve...always getting into trouble. I think I have burned photos before, or at least, tried to destroy memories by burning them. It never really works completely. Well done with the words and the picture. They were tough this week.
ReplyDeleteIt was tough! I tried going along the lines of using the guy driving as my MC, but I couldn't get it to work. So, it became about pictures. I'm trying to steer clear of that approach, though. I know I've done it at least once before and I'm trying not to make it a habit.
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