Another Trip Down Memory Lane!

“LOST MUSKET DIARY” Friday March 27, 2015

Sunny 91°F/33°C in Rancho Santa Margarita

Buongiorno,

   My retirement project is underway, but I honestly don’t know if I’ll live long enough to see it through, primarily because I had no idea that three generations of us were such shutterbugs. There’s

Grandma and Grandpa Botula

my grandparents’ generation of family portraits and snapshots…..my folks in their youth – courting, marrying, building a family, fighting the war, shaping the peace…..my brother and I growing up, building careers, marrying – yada, yada, yada! Now, here I am, long retired with boxes and boxes of family photos and documents that I’d like to keep out of the landfill. As a longtime newsman who’s seen a lot of history in the making, I’m sure that these boxes contain a few more good yarns that can be passed along to future generations of Botula “begats.”

Dana at 4

Then too, there’s my upcoming shoulder joint replacement surgery. I've been told that I won’t be allowed to drive for several months, which, in itself, gives me a lot of “no place to go” time. Fortunately, I live close enough to everything I need to survive. Trader Joe’s is within walking distance. So is the Canyon Grill. I've already arranged for transportation to therapy and post op doctor visits. My family and friends have pledged to help out, so I’m okay there, but, the one-armed man here is going to have a lot of down-time on his hands. What a great opportunity to bone up on my Italian for my next trip to Rome, and go through those boxes of baby pictures and get them all archived. I even have an outlet for all of this: my website –  www.mikebotula.com  and my blog – mikebotula.blogspot.com. So, in effect, I’ll be “self-publishing.”

Cousin Ralph, me and Mom-taking off!

  The latest tool in my kit is my new Epson photo scanner. It does prints, slides and negatives in black and white and color, and the package includes the software to make all the necessary tweaks on the photos, some of which are close to a hundred years old. As I go along, I’m reliving some pretty important times in my own life. In a way, it’s good therapy. Overall, I think I've lived a fairly happy and productive life, but there are the periodic jolts to remind me of opportunities missed or some events that I thought I had lived down. For sure, there have been triumphs and tragedies, trials and tribulations, but in the long run there are only

The Cub Scout-My son, Mike

a few things I would change.

Christmas 1979-Dana, Donna, Mike

  One thing became painfully obvious to me right at the start. Considering the fact that a great many of the photos I've been scanning are family snapshots circulated over the years by relatives and friends who were sharing family events and class pictures by mail. Very few of the pictures I’ve seen in this collection carry any kind of labeling information. A date here and there, and occasionally the names of the subject in ink or pencil on the back. Otherwise, I've had to rely on my own memory, family documents or a quick phone call to a friend or relative.

Next Generation: Jordyn and Jaydan

Considering the fact that the first generation on both sides of my own family have long since passed on, the documentation is sometimes difficult or impossible to come by. I can appreciate what a museum curator or historian faces in the process of documenting historical events.

Dana

  So while my narrative prattles on, hopefully you’ll find the accompany pictures interesting enough to keep following along.

 But, I know how easily people get bored with someone ELSE’s baby pictures or vacation photos, so I’ll keep this opening round brief.  If you follow my blog or visit my website, you may notice that I may not be posting as frequently. That has everything to do with the surgery next Tuesday, so please allow for a little recovery time. At least I’ll have something to do as I make my comeback and turn back into a two-fisted guy instead of the “one-armed man.”

Ciao,

MikeBo

©Mike Botula 2015