It’s not until he steps into the study does he notice the little wisp of steam trailing behind him. He smiles, picturing his coffee cup as a mini-locomotive, chugging its way toward the couch. Not too many years ago, well, maybe more than he cares to admit, that steam would be rising in the kitchen while he sat chuckling at Calvin and Hobbes, The Far Side, and all the other wonderful funnies that took up a full page in the newspaper.
But the paper’s gone digital, the funnies aren’t so funny, and it’s just not the same staring into a laptop as it was spreading the pages out on the counter, thumbing through the news, the sports, the travel section, entertainment, and, of course, the funnies.
He sets the cup down, letting it cool, and plops onto the sofa, his eyes drawn to the plastic tub of pictures and slides sitting beside the coffee table. He’d brought it up from the basement last week – New Year’s Eve, actually – along with a host of others, spending his night wistfully sifting through a lifetime of memories.
But he hadn’t made it to this one, the crème de la crème. “Adventures” is written on the side in thick black Sharpie letters, and the label really only scratches the surface.
Leaning forward, he pops off the top and reaches in, grabbing a good handful of the 5 x 7s and 35mm slides. He can’t help but laugh – all of these are from film, taken with his new (then), 40-years-old now, Nikon. In today’s world everyone uses their phone, and slides are passé, leaving Kodachrome, like the newspaper, to go the way of the dodo.
He takes a quick sip of his coffee, then settles back in the chair, misty eyes ready to continue his journey down memory lane.
The first is from the rim of the majestic Grand Canyon. Next up, he’s on a boat, preparing to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef. Then the rainy day on the Galapagos Islands, a wise old tortoise smirking at the silly human. The humid but wondrous trip down the Amazon. The Pyramid of the Moon in Mexico on a hot summer day. The forever hike to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite. The cantankerous mule in Zion. Standing at the Berlin Wall before, then after it fell. Antarctica... beautiful, but brrrr.
He sets the photos aside, a bit melancholy, realizing it’s been 7 or 8 years since he sealed that container. When did he stop taking such marvelous adventures? And why?
Okay, so he’s 72 and retired, does that mean he has to sit here reminiscing about the “good ol’ days”?
Not a chance.
He slips out his phone and pulls up a number looked at many times, but never called. Time for that next adventure.
“Beachside Canine Rescue, home of the waggly tails. How can I help you?”
“Hello. I’d like to see about adopting a dog. One that’s ready for a big adventure.”
But the paper’s gone digital, the funnies aren’t so funny, and it’s just not the same staring into a laptop as it was spreading the pages out on the counter, thumbing through the news, the sports, the travel section, entertainment, and, of course, the funnies.
He sets the cup down, letting it cool, and plops onto the sofa, his eyes drawn to the plastic tub of pictures and slides sitting beside the coffee table. He’d brought it up from the basement last week – New Year’s Eve, actually – along with a host of others, spending his night wistfully sifting through a lifetime of memories.
But he hadn’t made it to this one, the crème de la crème. “Adventures” is written on the side in thick black Sharpie letters, and the label really only scratches the surface.
Leaning forward, he pops off the top and reaches in, grabbing a good handful of the 5 x 7s and 35mm slides. He can’t help but laugh – all of these are from film, taken with his new (then), 40-years-old now, Nikon. In today’s world everyone uses their phone, and slides are passé, leaving Kodachrome, like the newspaper, to go the way of the dodo.
He takes a quick sip of his coffee, then settles back in the chair, misty eyes ready to continue his journey down memory lane.
The first is from the rim of the majestic Grand Canyon. Next up, he’s on a boat, preparing to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef. Then the rainy day on the Galapagos Islands, a wise old tortoise smirking at the silly human. The humid but wondrous trip down the Amazon. The Pyramid of the Moon in Mexico on a hot summer day. The forever hike to the top of Half Dome in Yosemite. The cantankerous mule in Zion. Standing at the Berlin Wall before, then after it fell. Antarctica... beautiful, but brrrr.
He sets the photos aside, a bit melancholy, realizing it’s been 7 or 8 years since he sealed that container. When did he stop taking such marvelous adventures? And why?
Okay, so he’s 72 and retired, does that mean he has to sit here reminiscing about the “good ol’ days”?
Not a chance.
He slips out his phone and pulls up a number looked at many times, but never called. Time for that next adventure.
“Beachside Canine Rescue, home of the waggly tails. How can I help you?”
“Hello. I’d like to see about adopting a dog. One that’s ready for a big adventure.”
