On Photography

My mother loves her family. Almost more than that, she loves taking photographs of her family. As our self-appointed archivist, dear mom has dogged us relentlessly with her camera at family get-togethers small and large for the past 5 decades. It's reached the point where our pupils automatically constrict to pinpoints in mom's presence in wincing expectation of the barrage of flashes we receive at birthday dinners, graduations and anniversaries. It's one of the things about which we love to groan; in a loving way that is, every time we all get together. Her passion for capturing "Kodak moments" is often followed by disbelief at the result! Tragically, mom has a tendency to chop off heads with the reliability of the guillotine during the French Revolution. The law of large numbers prevails however; and due to the sheer volume of shots taken we have ample photographic documentation of our family's history.

The Price of Beauty

As the year grows old, the sun shares but miserly portions of its light and heat and the sky turns grey; not an ominous, black-grey - the harbinger of impending celestial tumult that inspires a delightful terror - but the mournful, muddled grey of a neglected canvas left for too long in the unmerciful elements. Ever in tune with nature, my shrinking soul mourns the loss of life and colour.


If we listen to our bodies they will tell us what we need. When I'm weak in body I crave red meat but when I'm depleted in spirit I crave BEAUTY. To sate my spiritual appetite I can sample from a smorgasbord of art, literature, music or poetry - within my financial means that is - which, presently, is very mean indeed!

Luckily, there is great beauty to be enjoyed for a song! Joseph Conrad's "Victory" that I borrowed from a friend's library and just finished a couple of weeks ago lifted at least 2 veils of mourning from my eyes. Public libraries are incredible sources of free entertainment; besides a book for every taste they also carry a wide array of magazines and periodicals, movies and music DVDs and all for free. I cannot understand how someone can be without a library card.