The Personal Imagery of Thanksgiving

Today is the eve of one of the true, great American days. Of all the holidays in our year, it seems to me that Thanksgiving brings out the best in all of us. It symbolizes family, country and a vision for the peace and tranquility we all wish was ours. It also allows us to take a good cleansing exhale and reflect on those things we might be thankful about.

It is usually a multi--generational affair, bringing together children, parents, grandparents and some great-grandparents in there as well. We can see first hand see how strong the roots of family and friends are as we can look in the eyes of those who came before us and those who came after us at the same time.

It's also a day for picture taking. Whether it's the setting of the table, the standing or sitting around prior to the meal, the meal itself or the post-feast cleanup or the football games on tv in the other room, we furiously take photos of Thanksgiving. What a time to get that shot of this year’s newest, tiny addition to the family being held by the great grandmotherly hands of the family's matriarch. How amazing it is to watch grandpa's eyes while being treated to some exaggerated story of little league success by an eight-year-old. How fun it is to photograph the table and then look back on Thanksgiving’s passed and see that things haven't really changed all that much over the years—at least from a culinary point of vew.

We tend to take so many photos of the youngest people in our families -- -- after all there's nothing cuter than a completely candid photograph of a child. But if you look around, everyone is also taking those kind of shots. The really important shots to get are the ones that include the oldest at the table. They're the ones who have been shaping Thanksgiving celebrations for dozens upon dozens of years and the ones who are most at risk of being near the end of their time at your table.

In my family alone, this Thanksgiving will be celebrated through the veil of loss of three senior members of the clan over the past year or so.

That makes the picture’s we have of our families that much more precious to all of us. Your aunt may be gone, but her image remains largely due to your own memory but also in part to the photographs you have of her. That's why it's so important to make sure those photos, those special family collections, do not fade away and ultimately become irrelevant. You can digitize those photos by having them scanned and housed in your computer or on a DVD and they will live for another 50 years or more. It's very sad that too many of my own family’s pictures have suffered the fate of age. Sadder still that there are very few among us who can identify the people in the pictures.

However, if your photos are scanned and labeled on the spot, transferred to DVD and are kept safe there is no end to what you can do with them. You can make photo collages backed by inspirational or emotional music to play at next year's Thanksgiving. You can create a family documentary that chronicles your family via photos, interviews on video and previously recorded videotapes to give out to other family members.

The point is to keep the memory alive of everyone sitting at that table tomorrow. Thanksgiving day, that grand American holiday, represents the fabric of all we hold dear. It’s part of what connects one generation to the next. That little cousin you had is in charge of Thanksgiving every year because she grew up and those who once held that responsibility have passed on. Don't let your photos, videos and other memories of the day fade away. Keep them alive, scan them and save them. They are a part of you.