Traditions

As I was growing up, it was tradition that once a year between Thanksgiving and Christmas we would gather as a family after dinner, pop popcorn, and watch our family slides.

My dad would haul out the projector, set up and open the slide screen, and carefully arrange the stacks and stacks of slide projector canisters in chronological order making sure the current years slides were on the bottom. The lights would be turned off, and we would lay on the floor with our pillows and popcorn and watch and listen as the snapshots of our life were projected onto the screen and talked about by all.

When my dad passed away, I took possession of this slice of our family history recorded on chrome film not knowing exactly what I would do with them. The projector no longer worked, and couldn't be repaired. I thought of getting a new projector, but that never happened.

I came across the box of slides last month while rummaging around in the hall closet. I pulled them out, and began looking at them one a time, holding them up to the window, thinking of how much fun it was to watch them once a year.

I took the slides to be scanned and just last week got them back. I'm going through them one at a time, fixing them up a little in photoshop, and plan on making both an album and a DVD slideshow for my siblings and mom for Christmas. And I'm going to revive this tradition with my family. Every year.

I'm going to post a couple of my favorites up here on the Fringe throughout the month to humiliate myself.

This first one is me as Mighty Mouse, putting fear into the villainous villains (that's my brother without the shirt) and getting the girl.



Now you know why Kristen finds me so irresistible. I'm a dork.