Smile

Pictures are funny things.

They can capture a great moment, remind you of a time when you laughed so hard you cried, and bring back a flood of memories that are triggered by the sight. The tricky thing is that you have to pose for them. So it’s dangerous—if you remember the posing more than the moment. Or they just aren’t taken at the perfect time. The best pictures are unexpected. They sneak up and someone else snaps one when you’re not expecting it. These are also the most risky. The most failed pictures and the most of you looking confused or like shit. So basically it’s the whole risk and return thing and people just can’t handle the risk so you end up with hundreds of posed and smiling pictures. That’s why I love digital cameras.

Pictures can also gloss over things. They can capture the beautiful sky and distract you from the time when you felt horrible and wanted to cry. They capture a fake smile that is distorted years later to be a real one. But mostly they show how you want to be seen. Sometimes it’s surprising—bad camera angles are just bad. I guess even if they’re wrong they show situations that can remind you of how things truly were. Those pictures from freshman year—look how young we were…obviously people treated us like little kids…what on earth were we wearing…I went out in that skirt? In public? Sophomore year…we thought that was a good idea why? Etc…. I guess that’s a constant.

Looking around my room reminds me of all of the categories. Mavericks game painted blue, They Might Be Giants dance in front of the Haga Sophia, posing with sheep in Racchi, running in the road on the way to Enchanted Rock and posed with two yellow bugs in a garage in HP. I guess it’s mainly a way to make good times last beyond the immediate emotion. And we just don’t take pictures when we feel bad (ok, exceptions, true). But I think that’s just human nature—nobody wants to remember those times. So your life..at least if you have Alzheimer’s...is just a string of laughter and happy memories. Fake, but at least it’s a nice fake.