Faded Photographs

I deceived myself for a long time thinking I was more popular in my school career than I probably was particularly in junior high. I like to think that I could pass into the upper class of individuals at the junior high that I went to but once I became a bit more comfortable and who I was am looking back at my life with a bit more credibility – – I don't know if that's the right term but close enough right now.

As the committed reader knows I had my accident in the summer of my sophomore year which changed everything in my life of course especially in education course I was involved in as I transitioned from junior high to high school and all the kids that had been my friends and associates, many of which stretched all the way to grade school first grade even. I really didn't think much about my relationship with these folks at that time except they were my friends and I did appreciate when they would come and visit me at my hospital bed and some, a few at the rehabilitation center, but looking back I think I loved each one of these folks in a particular way. I've never thought of these guys especially the ones that I went to grade school with as an extended family but they really are I mean by these kids are in the same class that I was three or four years running. You cannot help but get close even though you don't live under the same familial roof is certainly under the same academic roof in the same academic room.

I don't know why I have begin ruminating over a certain action that happened right after my trauma possibly within a year. I can't get my dates down and I wish that I could. But, somewhere along the line I was presented with a picture album, remember those individual pictures that we got for me set for this yearbook are individual pictures that the school always offered the families? I'm sure everybody else did but I know we did at my junior high we traded Pictures like Baseball cards with a signature on the back. I of course didn't get any images because I was in the hospital. But somebody went through the effort of collecting a bunch of the guys in my ninth grade class and presented it to me pause at the Elks rehab. That is how I remember getting the album but I'm not really sure but somewhere this album appeared which I cherished for years only having it come up missing in the last couple of moves of my life. And actually the plastic sleeves that the images were in begin falling apart long before that little by little the images begin to disappear. That's okay, I'm ready let them go, but my focus now is who in the world went through the effort to put that image collection together to present to me? Seriously this had to be a lot of work and do some expense. The little photograph album alone was a pretty nice cost I think. There must've been 15 or 20 may be more images. They were assigned and cherished by me. I've started contacting some of the folks whose image was contained therein and asking them if they knew who put together this project. So far nobody can remember the album that alone who instigated the project. After all, that was almost 60 years ago! Still you think somebody might remember, they might.

Most of these folks I did not really hang with when I was at school. I did not go on any dates with any of the girls and I didn't get invited to any of the parties. But I know I got some support when I wrestled and I was always included in the groups in the hallways, at the hamburger shop next door are at the gathering that the football games of the high school. I guess as part of the group, the extended group and sometimes the extended group is better than nothing…