"Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away?"

Can you hear within your mind that wistful refrain sung by "Country Hall of Famer", Willie Nelson?  If you are like me, you can probably hear it in its orginal recorded form complete with the turntable noise accompanying Willy's silky smooth phrasing.  

My reason for thinking about this stems from the melding of three recent events: a random purchase of a 1936 Rockford High School Yearbook, my grandaughter's graduation party, and my wife's 55th class reunion set for this weekend.  With all of our access to social media and technology we now have the ability to instantly share highlights of our kid's sporting events or even last night's dinner with friends.  How is it that something as outdated and cliche as a high school yearbook can continue to hold relevance?   

I think that one reason why yearbooks still hold significance is their permanence.  This is the same reason why printed still photos continue to be loved.  Digital images flowing over the internet do not seem to embrace this same timeless quality.  I think one reason for this is that we are bombarded with digital images as part of our daily life. We live within a current of  unending digital feeds, and it feels refreshing to stop and be assured that this is a moment that we can hold to forever.   A second reason yearbooks remain viable, is that they represent the culmination of an important milestone in our lives while at the same time presenting a timeless liminal quality.  Yearbooks mark both an ending and also a beginning.  

The 1936 RHS Yearbook (the first year where color was used on its pages) held meaning for its original owner as evidenced by the fountain pen inscriptions throughout its pages.  Classmates, long forgotten, by the original owner, pledged to always remember our time together in Economics class, etc.  It also served as an anchor point in defining the passing years as evidenced by the clipped newspaper articles and obituary notices scattered within its pages.  

For me, that old yearbook was a chance to become a time traveler taking glimpses into the lives of high school students from a period before I was born.  I wonder if they ever gave a thought to the beginning of World War 2 that was just a mere three years away and how that single event likely changed their lives forever.  The fact that I can sit and ask such questions is one of the reasons the Class of 1936 became part of the "Greatest Generation" ever.   I'm sure their dreams were grander than the life their future offered them.  They learned what was important about living and how to adjust to changes. Without a doubt, they learned the same post high school life lessons as we did being a part of the Class of 1969. 

So here is my advice regarding yearbooks.  If  you are middle age or older, buy a yearbook even if it is not from your own high school.  As an impartial observer, you will enjoy peeking into high school life once again and reading comments written by others who never dreamed that they would be read by an outsider so many years later.  If you are a high school senior, get a yearbook  just for the heck of it.  In twenty years, you will have matured enough to tolerate having that senior picture on your name badge at the next reunion.  It will also provide an empirical benchmark on how much weight you have gained/lost, hair you have lost or is now growing in unwanted places, or even how dignified you look as an adult especially after shedding those "vintage fashions" and hairstyles.  You may even like your yearbook picture well enough to use it in your obituary notice, as some folks are want to do. 

I will close with a paraphrase of the third stanza where Willie croons "Gotta go now, guess I'll be seeing you around, but remember what I told you, in time you're gonna pay.  Gee, ain't it funny how time slips away."

PS  Still working on that Ventosa technique 3rd try.  Perhaps I can share it next week