Random Rolls of Film

Did you ever come across a roll of film that looks like it just slipped through the cracks? It was clearly used to capture some priceless moments, but the intention of getting it developed past and you wound up with a finished roll of film buried amongst the ruins. Something like that happened to me today. Well, actually it happened the other week when I went to Chicago. I decided not to take my $700 camera on the trip for fear I would break it or the airline would break it or lose it....I have trust issues. Anyway, I found my old crappy 35 mm from yesteryear and low and behold there is a roll in progress with about 10 exposures available. So I threw it my bag and brought it along for shits and giggles.

So today, I decided to get the film processed, along with another roll that I was unsure about. I popped it in 1 hour at CVS, headed to the movies to see Collateral and swung back around after the movie to grab the developed film. My curiosity was driving me nuts. I did recall taking a few shots in Chicago, mainly miscellaneous hotel room shots of us drinking beer. (What makes us think this is going to make a good picture? I have a ton of shots of my friends just randomly holding up a beer to the camera with a smile...how creative!) I had no idea what else could be on Roll A. Now Roll B, I was sure I recalled taking a picture of Noele (a friend of mine) but otherwise that roll was a mystery as well.

Drum roll....

So Roll A turns out be at least a year old, maybe longer and involves a lot of drinking and fraternizing at parties up on Temple's campus. Could be right before I moved in with the young ones here in Manayunk, could be right after. There is one telling shot of me and baby brother Dan in which we are both a lot thinner. (He's gonna cry when he sees them.) Some girls, guys I don't know, people who don't hang out anymore. It was all very nostalgic. It was a time when a lot of people who no longer spend time together basically never left each other's sides. It's odd to be part of another transition into adulthood, you know when you just basically get a life and put your friends at reach. They will always be there when you need them, but you are getting some distance from them. It happened to me around 1994 the first time, when I pursued being a rock star (Wink) and couldn't make time for my boys. Everything works out, friendships shift, things get easier. But it's weird being a part of that or at least around a group of guys where that is happening. Deja Vu?

Roll B was the bike race a few months back and an odd night of drunken dancing with South African folks. Oy vey. This captured the same group basically at a different point in time. Fun was being had by all, you can see the bonds between people, but everything looks different. Everyone looks older, wiser, more mature (except for Dan doing the Hawaiian shuffle) and in my case, larger.

The one thing that put this in perspective for me, the passing of time that is, was that each roll contained a picture of Jamison, the dog of the house and one of my dear friends. In Roll A she is a puppy, in Roll B full grown. Dogs grow fast, but when you are around them everyday you kind of don't notice it. Seeing her transformation made me think about good times here, the fact that we all get older and move on, that I may not see Jamison every day soon enough. Looking back is good sometimes. I think about how I may be fatter, but I did quit smoking. I have slowed down my drinking, but I did have some great times while drunk. I think about new friends and old friends. (Some of Roll B contained wedding shots from my buddy Jack's wedding a while back...) I think about challenges that I faced the past few years; being unemployed, being employed at something I hated, finding a job that suits me. I guess what I am trying to say is that I feel comfortable in who I am and how I have lived my life thus far. I'm old but I'm young. I didn't do things the conventional way, but I feel that makes me richer some how.

Take time to look back, you might enjoy it.