A Pleasant Surprise

Last night I quickly went through every one of my photos on flickr.com just to review what kinds of images I've been uploading since last September when I first got started. When I was done, I wasn't very impressed with my abilities as a photographer. I wasn't sure about my artistic talents and even though I have nearly 1500 photos online that have been viewed on more than 17,000 separate visits (and counting) I still had the feeling that I've been making some kind of a positive contribution. But until today I wasn't clear on what it is.

I had to remind myself about the many messages of gratitude I've received from people who lived on Okinawa around the same time I lived there for posting all my photos from the time. Most kids didn't take any photos and to summarize what I've been told, they said my pictures brought back a flurry of forgotten, happy memories from the happiest time in their lives.

One fellow wrote and said he lived across the street from me and that his sister, now deceased, is in two of my photos taken at Pacific Middle School. I remember her. She was a fun, happy girl whose death left family broken hearted. I had a feeling someone would eventually see themselves or a friend in my photo stream but I wasn't expecting to hear a tragic story like his.

On the other hand he agreed with others that my collection of random shots from daily life brought back good memories too. And that's something I enjoy hearing. Those two short years were such a magical time in my life and it gives me great pleasure hearing that by seeing my photos, other people experience the same rekindled emotions.

Just the other day I was contacted by someone who is putting together several new websites about Okinawa and asked for my permission to use some of my photos. I really can't guess which ones he wants to use but I still felt a rush of pride. Had I known, over 35 years ago, that these things would happen I would have done a much better job of taking and preserving my slides!

Okay, there's more! This is a little odd but tonight I checked my mail and found that the University of San Francisco School of Pharmacy had added me as a flickr contact. Since that sounded really odd, I decided to go to their flickr profile and see what was going on. I was pleasantly surprise by what I found. They don't post their own photos or select favorite photos by other people. Here's a quote from that profile:

• We add Flickr contacts and join Flickr groups which we feel reflect the character and experiences of people in San Francisco, the Bay Area, and California so that our community can more easily see how we move and live in the larger world around us. Flickr enables us to share and build these connections much easier than we can do ourselves.

I was honored by that. It feels good to be recognized even in a small way.

When it's all over with and done I hope my one heart's desire is achieved. And that is just to have contributed something lasting and positive during my time. Maybe I've started getting somewhere with that.