The Fun of Your Rear View Mirror

by Skip Cohen

After being mostly hunkered down for almost two years, I shouldn't be surprised at how good I'm feeling after being with old friends and new ones this past week at IUSA. While I've written a lot about the importance of recharging your battery by attending workshops and conventions, I've never been so aware of how badly 6500 other people needed it as well.

But this morning's Reflections post isn't about the industry as much as it is about the role photographs play in helping us savor great memories. On Facebook, a day or so after the convention, my good buddy Tony Corbell posted the picture on the right. It's of him receiving the Gerhardt Baaker award from Ralph Romaguera at PPA's awards program the other night. Well, that took me down Memory Lane, remembering when our mutual good buddy, Don Blair received the award twenty years ago.

From that point on, I was hooked - and went off to old photographs of my own, blog posts, and a whirlwind tour jam-packed with smiles from past IUSA and WPPI conventions. Then the stories started coming out for Sheila, as I became a one-man stand-up comic with one story after another about friends from past conventions.

For example, bumping into Tony and Ralph Romaguera the other night, Ralph reminded me of how we all went to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame together while on the road with Hasselblad University in the 90s. A year later, he cornered me to show me that he was still wearing his Rock and Roll entry bracelet. (It's like a hospital ID bracelet, and he'd taped it back up to convince me he never took off - and it almost worked!) And, if you know Tony, you know he's the ultimate Beatles fan, and the Beatles exhibit on that trip was closed for renovation. So I had to literally whine and beg security to let Tony in by himself with a solemn promise he wouldn't touch anything. 

Here's my point this morning - those special looks in the rearview mirror now and then are priceless. And while we all have memories to look back on, it's time to create new ones. The road back to normalcy is paved with those priceless moments we all need to start sharing again. Things will never be the same, but we all share a new appreciation for family, friends, and freedom. It's that love for the craft we all share, and what a kick to start the journey back.

Wishing everybody a day filled with appreciation for family, old friends, and new ones. Most importantly, don't waste time being frustrated over today's challenges. Instead, focus on what's most important in your life, and then savor each new moment.

Life is simply too short!

---