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This site came about for several reasons. One, Phil Strub from my class of 1964-5 contacted me out of the blue by email. We had a back and forth, then met again, 40 years after our Freshman graduation in 1965 and it seemed like no time has passed at all. Except, that is, for a certain lack of hair where we wanted it and a profusion where we would have been happy if nature had seen fit not to intrude.
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We both found that our experiences in Paris had given us a different outlook than if we had been raised and educated in the US. We thumbed through my ratty photo album that I put together back in 1965 and had only seen a couple of times since. It brought back memories; some were the same while others were completely different. But it seemed we were picking up our friendship where we had left it off.
We wondered what had happened to some of the other people whose faces were familiar or very familiar but whose owners we had not seem or heard from in 40 years. Since our class and the following one, of which I was also a part, did not receive a year book with faces and names available to us, I had taken these photos to have some memories, but only when it was evident that there would be no year book. If I had known earlier, I pro baby would have been a total pain in the ass getting into everyones' faces with my lens.
The albums are falling apart and the prints, which were never of a high quality (I was just learning dark room techniques). So I decided that is was time to scan the prints before they turned to dust. Scans done, I decided that others may enjoy the photos as well, so since I am a web designer as well as photographer, I undertook to establish an album site as well as a blog so we can offer out thoughts on just how we benefitted from our time in Paris (or not).
Some of us have found that the very experiences that formed us in that year, may have made our return to the US difficult since our awareness were so different, but in the long run, gave us a more independant way of thinking, a broader understanding of differences and similarities between peoples and cultures, and I'd like to think, a more challenging thought process at whatever IQ and academic level we work at.
I did not know everyone's names. Often I only knew the given name but not the family name. So if you have additional information, know the full names and/or anything further about anyone you see here, please do email me with the information or if you are in contact with the person(s), have them email me.
If you have any anecdotes to share with us, email those too. Maybe I will make a memories page. But do feel free to post on the blog.
I have a feeling, most of us, in common with our fellow baby-boomers, have put in long hours at work and have hardly thought back. But we are either just over the 60 mark or just about to cross it. I have found that while I still feel I have a lot to do with my life, at 60, people in my business, which is filled with much younger people than myself, look at me and see "gramps" rather than the guy on the cutting edge of my craft with decades of experience to back up his convictions. Sometimes looking back to see where you have been, can help in looking forward to see how you can reinvent yourself; it would not be the first time. Lord knows the world is changing around us at a frightening speed!
If you want any of the photos at 72 dpi from this site, just drag them off the page and drop them on your desktop with your mouse. If you want high res versions, email me and I will email them to you (but you would need broadband) with quantity within reason. If you want a CD or prints, we would have to discuss that.
À bientôt.
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