Ghosts

My cousin Kevin is a photographer. Recently he launched a beautiful new website. Photographers always seem to have the coolest websites and this is no exception.

One of the galleries he features is entitled "Ghosts of Walla Walla" and his commentary and photographs relate to the small city where he grew up in eastern Washington.  Walla Walla is a city where my father grew up along with Kevin's mom and the remainder of the 11 Schmidt kids. It is also a city that is ripe with happy family memories for many of us owing to annual reunions which took place over many years. I don't know Walla Walla as home but I well remember those many visits that were always a treat for us young kids.

What strikes me most about Kevin's commentary, however, is the realization of just how much he cares about that town, that history, and all that rests in that space. That, and how lucky he is to have that sense of connection to place in life .  So many people move through life, point A to point B to point C and beyond, never giving a thought to where it was they were before.  It's not their fault necessarily. Perhaps they've just never been provided with a reason to remember. Maybe nothing's ever been that good, that dear.

It's a wonderful life to be blessed with ghosts, especially if you know where to find them.