Lonely Christmas Nights

Axiom
Very sorry for the illness to your loved one.
Know that none of us are alone. We love photography because is somehow tangibly captures our memories. Those memories, of those we love, are all we have. I guess I've learned to be thankful for the memories I have. After all, the alternative would be not to have them at all. We'll all make good memories in the future and that will help us treasure the old ones even more.

I hope you find peace this Christmas, my friend. My thoughts are with you.

Ok. Time to nurse this dreadful cold I've caught and get to bed. Big day tomorrow. Who knows what memories may come!!

L
 
Random acts of kindness can have a lot of meaning at Xmas. About fifteen years ago I split up with my second wife a month or two before Xmas and by the time Xmas itself came around I was alone, extremely lonely, very depressed and quite ready to be 'beamed up' so to speak.

A casual business aquaintance, who I didn't really know all that well, knew what had happened to me and took me aside and told me he would like me to spend Xmas with him and his family at their hoiday place up the coast. His reason ... people who are extremely miserable can often often be tipped over the edge around this time of year and he was worried that I may do something rash!

I never took him up on his offer but the fact that someone I didn't really know actually gave a sh!t made a difference to me ... it turned my mood around and what could have been a complete disaster became quite bearable. I look back on that incident and wonder at the basic decency of many human beings!
 
to those of you having a hard time right now, hang in there.

I can't say with any certainty that time heals everything or even anything, but I can say with great confidence that it does allow one to view things from a different perspective.

if things look crummy from you are right now, maybe they are crummy or maybe they're not. tomorrow, you get another chance to see the world fresh. if you don't like the way it looks from where you're viewing it, sometimes, just as when you're making a photograph, a slight shift in where you're standing or what you've chosen to focus on can make all the difference. the light is never exactly the same the next day as it is now. so, if the merry christmas wishes of all your friends here aren't doing it for you so far as warming you up and making your feel better, just hang in there. there's always tomorrow. best wishes from me for a brighter one.
 
your mere presence is no doubt providing comfort and easing your loved one's burden. you can't really give a greater gift than something like that. and it has nothing to do with believing or not believing. that's just a pure human thing independent of faith.

axiom said:
I appreciate it (although I am an athiest).
It's my duty to ease the suffering. Wish I can help better
Click to expand...
 
Well said, and great advice I wish I had years ago when going through my own family depressions. The way I see it is that no matter how hard we think we have it, there is always someone out there doing it harder that needs help. While we feel alone, it's only a feeling, and one that can be overcome with 'great confidence' as Rob says.

We need to want it, believe in it and act on it. Cheers everyone.

robklurfield said:
to those of you having a hard time right now, hang in there.

I can't say with any certainty that time heals everything or even anything, but I can say with great confidence that it does allow one to view things from a different perspective.

if things look crummy from you are right now, maybe they are crummy or maybe they're not. tomorrow, you get another chance to see the world fresh. if you don't like the way it looks from where you're viewing it, sometimes, just as when you're making a photograph, a slight shift in where you're standing or what you've chosen to focus on can make all the difference. the light is never exactly the same the next day as it is now. so, if the merry christmas wishes of all your friends here aren't doing it for you so far as warming you up and making your feel better, just hang in there. there's always tomorrow. best wishes from me for a brighter one.
Click to expand...
 
in 1968, a close relative of mine unintentionally made it into the Guinness Book for surviving a nearly 300-foot free-fall off a major NYC bridge in an attempt to end his life. in the 27 remaining years he lived, I don't think he ever had any regrets that his attempt failed and I know that he had plenty of second thoughts on the way down about having made the leap (and, it was no leap of faith to be sure). when his fall was broken by hitting some ice on the Hudson River, he decided life was worth living enough to start swimming back to the shore (broken leg and all). (Guinness no long publishes this kind of record, but if you find a 25-year old copy, you can read about it.)
 
sprokitt said:
...We love photography because is somehow tangibly captures our memories. Those memories, of those we love, are all we have. I guess I've learned to be thankful for the memories I have. After all, the alternative would be not to have them at all. We'll all make good memories in the future and that will help us treasure the old ones even more.
L
Click to expand...

Talking about keeping memories. I think my Kodachrome were well used. Hopefully they will arrive on time, and hopefully my exposures weren't too far off (forgot the meter).
 
robklurfield said:
in 1968, a close relative of mine unintentionally made it into the Guinness Book for surviving a nearly 300-foot free-fall off a major NYC bridge in an attempt to end his life. in the 27 remaining years he lived, I don't think he ever had any regrets that his attempt failed and I know that he had plenty of second thoughts on the way down about having made the leap (and, it was no leap of faith to be sure). when his fall was broken by hitting some ice on the Hudson River, he decided life was worth living enough to start swimming back to the shore (broken leg and all). (Guinness no long publishes this kind of record, but if you find a 25-year old copy, you can read about it.)
Click to expand...

so he left in 1995..
If there was someone to tell him to hang in there, it could have had a better ending. I hope he had a great 27-year
 
Rest of the family went out to the same old Holiday parties. Personally, I'm over having the same ol' conversations EVERY DAMN YEAR, so, I stayed, they went. I had a nice bottle of Maker's Mark 46 here, so, I opened her up and relaxed, well, am relaxing. I also, buzzed as I may be, successfully stuck my arms in my changing bag, opened a can of Tri-X and loaded it on the reel and into the tank. A normal task, but, throw in some alcohol, and it becomes something you're proud of! Now, mixing some D76 powder right now is something I'm npt 100% confident I can do without making a mess. Guess we'll see!
 
Not lonely, but quiet now. Home from church, Christmas Eve dinner on the stove, cocktail in hand. Last of the gift wrapping after the family heads off to bed later. RFF is kind of like a little cherry on top of all that.

Happy Holidays everyone and wishing you all a season of peace and sharing with those around you.
 
Don't mix the D-76 and the bourbon; no sense in spoiling a good drink. (Maker's Mark produces a 46-year bourbon? Didn't know that. It must be good. Too bad I don't drink anymore).

Tipton said:
Rest of the family went out to the same old Holiday parties. Personally, I'm over having the same ol' conversations EVERY DAMN YEAR, so, I stayed, they went. I had a nice bottle of Maker's Mark 46 here, so, I opened her up and relaxed, well, am relaxing. I also, buzzed as I may be, successfully stuck my arms in my changing bag, opened a can of Tri-X and loaded it on the reel and into the tank. A normal task, but, throw in some alcohol, and it becomes something you're proud of! Now, mixing some D76 powder right now is something I'm npt 100% confident I can do without making a mess. Guess we'll see!
Click to expand...
 
Started Christmas Break by taking Nicole and her BFF to Tron, picture with Santa, and dinner. They had a great time, and both 12-year olds have a lot in common. They both went through years of surgeries throughout their childhood. No matter what I go through, it will not match what the two of them had to ordeal.

Made Santa very happy that the two "had" to have their picture together with him.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
What do you mean by that, Roger? "PROSPEROUS New Year..."? What about us that can't afford the Noctilux and the M9? What about us that can only look forward to Voigtlanders under the tree?



Just kidding! 🙂 Happy holidays to you and Frances! And by the way, thanks to you two for all your excellent reporting on Photokina in Shutterbug. Fun reading.
 
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