I feel so old school making prints for my kids and friends. I guess I grew up in the time of photo albums, framed prints on the walls, and tables and slides in a projector. But people seem to like them. I guess they could be humoring me but I don’t think so. I enjoy so much sharing family images and videos with them through email. But I make them prints quite often.

Giving a print I’ve noticed gives a different reaction most of the time than online viewing. The most common thing I see is a smile and pause when they look. Even when they are in a hurry, they slow down and look intently at them. They smile and share them with their spouse or say thanks with a smile. I’ve also noticed some people will turn and pause or take a few steps with them. Like some memory or new thought has been triggered. Sometimes they might shuffle through them again and smile.

I make prints because I like seeing my work like that instead of on-screen. I make prints to share my work in my home and office when people visit. I make prints to give in hopes it makes someone else happy. I make prints that someday my kids will hold and have a vision of what their father was seeing. I make prints that my friends will have the shared memories I had of us living and having fun. I make prints that might put a smile on a friend’s face maybe when they need a lift.

I remember the excitement of developing my first rolls of film and pulling prints from the baths that would make the image magically appear. That physical print, be it alone and just with a white border, or in a cardboard frame or a nice glass frame or just taped to the wall or with a pushpin is a thing of great joy for me.

I saw a question of the day on Pointless Overthinking asking “what do you see when you look in the mirror.” I see a relaxed smile thanks to my better half, children, grandchildren, and wonderful friends. I see a grey beard that hides a firm jaw from many decades of hard work. I see naturally curly hair that is getting thin in spots but still has the spirit and youthful mindset. I see eyes that look tired and hide the pain. I see a body that is scarred from the surgeon’s scalpels but looks good for its age. I see a nose that loves the smell of food and in the last decade has been holding up the eyeglasses. I see a pair of ears that I always try to encourage to do a better job at listening and not speaking. I see a neck that most mornings sounds like a big truck going down a gravel road till I’ve stretched it out for several minutes. I see legs that have propelled me through life. I see a chest with a heart with a lot more love to share.

Random Thoughts of the Day

• You could sense the unspoken tension before the verdict the other day.
• Like the pollen was having a problem making it to my respiratory system, mother nature thought a 30mph wind would get it all the way up there.
• Can we continue to make good decisions as a society?
• I washed my car on Sunday and was so pleased with how clean it was. I took it out for a spin on Tuesday and saw that mother nature was turning it orange.