Real people

Nowadays we paste our family photos in digital picture files. Gone are the times of sorting snapshots and placing them in mounting corners against the black pages in albums.

I treasure my grandmother’s photo album. It has pictures of my father as a small boy, some beach snaps with my dad and mother in their bathing suits, and pictures of my Nana holding little me.

I still love the fabric covered scrapbook I made in Brownie Scouts. I was diligent and pasted in class photos and pictures with friends for quite a few years. Thank goodness I did that. It is organized and compact and a fine way to remember the past.

Of course many of us have special photos displayed here and there at home. Those are good for morning hellos and nighttime nods as we walk by. I do this. Do you?

Yesterday, there was a gathering to remember Judy a year after her death. She was a member of the Greek Orthodox Church and this is their custom. She was honored at the church and then her priest and close friends from the community gathered for lunch. Judy’s sister and the rest of the family are glad to adopt Greek customs that we like.

It was a perfect misty day in the Bay Area hills. It was cozy inside. The Greeks drink a quick shot of brandy and say a toast to begin the celebration on most occasions. We were happy to follow that ritual.

I took some family photos near the end of the afternoon. I just love these people. I’ll store them in my “blog album.” But will my children and grandchildren be able to thumb through them years from now? I doubt it.