.Max Richter. On The Nature Of Daylight.

Today I found a picture. A negative of a picture to be exact.
A baby. A newborn baby was captured within the colorless, motionless, now homeless negative.
Ripped, scratched, covered with earth-this newborn life of glossy brown and black had been snatched from the winds of devastation and blown out into the open and later found its way into my hands. Someones life was in my hands. Literally. Without question, lying on my desk right now is a piece of someone's life thrown from the destruction of a tornado.

After grazing the campus today camera in hand, it's difficult for me to yet grasp that someone else could very easily be holding a picture of me and my family, a graduation, a recital, a girls night photo that could have been taken from my life and blown out into the world. Without question. Without much warning. Without warrant.

Captured on my camera: A wedding. A snow day. A child. A handful of lives that are now changed for a long moment that only took but one to cause.

Later down the road, I looked down to find yet another picture-A negative. Across campus, a ten minute walk at least, was the other half of the first negative. A perfect fit almost. To complete the life, a family was now in sight. At a beach-sand castles, swim suits, umbrellas, sunglasses and the ocean off in the distance. A perfect family picture.

I feel so awkward having someone's copy of their life on my desk.
On my desk that is still in my room underneath my roof.
While their ripped negative of a family vacation is nothing but possibly a memory to them now.
Not only do I feel somewhat odd about this, I also feel a bit at ease that I have been honored to see a glimpse into someone else's life. To be the one, out of all of those rummaging through this disaster today, to piece these two instantly worn pieces of film together and experience a piece of their own-I think it to be nothing short of a blessing.
I am grateful.
I am so grateful.





The Grand Canyon Family(top).
Another photo torn by the 'rain-wrapped' destruction.