Photographs and Memories...

We've all seen so many heartbreaking images this past week, but I saw another one on Yahoo last night that grabbed my heart again. It was a professional photograph of what looked like a middle-aged couple. They appeared to be well-dressed and smiling, their heads turned slightly towards one another; clearly a special photograph of maybe a special time. Maybe it was an annual anniversary photo. Maybe it had been a gift photo of someone's parents. Or, maybe it was just taken for no other reason than the desire to have a nice photograph of themsleves.

It doesn't really matter now though. It lies half-buried in the Biloxi sand, torn and shattered, the image mostly destroyed by the sand and water it lies in. It lies among piles of splintered wood and twisted metal and broken glass. Damaged beyond repair. A poignant reminder of happier times.

I think about crazy things when tragedy happens and I couldn't help but ache for the owners of the photograph. I can't imagine anything happening to my pictures; I don't know what I'd do. These people lost so much more than a picture though. They may have lost everything they owned. It may be that their whole life was lying in that pile of rubble on the beach. A lifetime of memories.

I hope the couple in the photograph made it through the storm. I hope that even though that photograph is lost, they still have each other. I hope they go on to make many more memories and have many more photographs taken. Most of all, I hope that they aren't damaged beyond repair.