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Friday, February 20, 2009

Roads out of Here



I love photografs that can't be placed. This one could be Italy, or France or...Memories are like that. They are like agates we pick up on a beach and take home, filling a big jar on the window sill. Each agate was a small time in life we wanted to treasure, polish, keep for eternity.

When we write our story down, describe a day here, a road there, we leave the present and reconstruct the past. It will be a touched-up past, photoshopped, cropped, embellished with ribbons and perfume.
It will become our creation of that past.

But it will still be who we were, and who we thought we were. This last part, the part about how we view our lives, gets lost and hidden. The best part of us is how we see who we are. We become the people we admire, the peopble we want to be. We decide to take the road our of town.

We are also from somewhere, from somebody else's dream, those who encouraged or discouraged to dream, those who believed in us and helped us fly, or those whose fears and despair we clutched to and adopted as our own cloak of defense. We can thank God, our parents, our teacher, our ministers and mentors, our spouses and our children, but we took those steps toward our very own tomorrows.

23 comments:

Cheryl Cato said...

You must know how I love street photos and this one I could have taken. This is an image I could have taken. Notice how the cobblestones intersect ... it's as if the people laying the stones were saying "choose your path". Where would we be if we had taken one path rather than the other? Those "what if" questions can be fun or disheartening, but if we had not taken the road that we took we would not be in the wonderful place we are now.

An English Shepherd said...

nice picture & lovely blog. To make you think & remember...

Rosaria Williams said...

Cheryl,
Thanks for stopping by and connecting with my storyline.

English Sheperd,
Good to see you. Let's think together.

Anonymous said...

I'm going with France, just because I love France and I so miss my regular under channel trips to explore the beauty of the countryside and vibrant towns and cities too.

Great pic as was the previous one of Paris. Aah! Thanks for your visit to mine btw.

Rosaria Williams said...

Rob,
You're right on both counts. Thanks for stopping by.

Natalie said...

I love the idea of the different paths we could have followed....

I never dwell on it though. Good post, R.

Hugs.xx

Rosaria Williams said...

Natalie,
I have enjoyed your musings. Thanks for stopping by.

Dumdad said...

Hi,

We travel along that road that endlessly bends and curves: we can never quite see what's round the corner until we get there.

In your previous post I agree with you about writing and what blogs are for. I much prefer to read a short story or a novel in book form. Perhaps I'm old fashioned but the book is still the most user-friendly conveyance of words, in my book anyway!

Word verification: ablend

I guess that's what's life is all about.

Dave King said...

Like you I love photographs that can't be placed. For much the same reason I love the whole consept of this blog and its title.

Unknown said...

What a wonderfully insightful post - and the image works perfectly with your words!

Rosaria Williams said...

Dumdad-yes, the curves on the road, the bend that changes our perspectives. Thanks for stopping by.

Dave-about photographs, I wish I had your knowledge and artistry; but, alas, I have to make do with whatever is at hand.

Absolute V- Thanks for stopping by. Storytelling is a whole lot harder than it appears. I will have to be patient and study people like you who are so skilled at the craft. Thanks for stopping by.

Renee said...

Your one line re my parlour tricks totally cracked me up. Thanks for the laugh.

Renee

Alice said...

Wise words as always :)
Hope you're well

Alice x

Rosaria Williams said...

Renee-thanks for stopping by.

Alice-good to see you.

Amy said...

Leaving the present and re-constructing your past....how wonderful!! It can't help but be done because our past is remembered from our perspective and our perspective is our reality. Lovely, lovely.

(Sometimes I really wish I could Photoshop my past!)

Rosaria Williams said...

Amy, thanks for stopping by.

Saretta said...

Sure looks like Italy to me! Thanks for dropping by my blogs and leaving comments! Molfetta is on the Adriatic coast in southern Italy 25k north of Bari. Snow is very rare here on the coast, and so an exciting event!

Eleonora Baldwin said...

Italy, definitely! the "cul de sac" T-shaped red and blue sign is a dead (end) give away.
What a great blog. Your reflections are very stimulating and heartfelt, thank you for sharing.

French Fancy... said...

What beautiful words you write. It's because of these lovely words that there is a well-deserved award awaiting you at my place

Rosaria Williams said...

French Fancy- How very kind of you to bestow me such an honor. Thank you, thank you. Even big girls like me appreciate the attention.

Rosaria Williams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Eleonora Baldwin said...

Ta daaa. Ho installato il "follow" widget. Ciao amica

Anonymous said...

Very thought provoking and poetic.