Do you think pictures capture memories in a way that eludes the mind? After a decade, many events have completely left my fragile braincase, and it is not uncommon for Jean to go into intricate detail describing some event which for the life of me I cannot recall. If she'd taken a picture, would it have lasted longer?
I've got a digital camera, a geek toy really, which I use when the mood suits me, or when a holiday arrives. Lucky for you I don't use it more often. But the point I guess I'm trying to make, is if a picture is worth a thousand words, why don't I take more pictures?
I just realized that what makes this weblog work for me is that I don't think in pictures. I think in words, inner monologues, sometimes inner dialogues. Images figure into things, and when I need to diagram some complex interaction, I'll draw something or visualize it. But I don't visualize life. I write my novel in real time, with words, well chosen or otherwise.
That's probably why I've been so taken with this web logging phenomenon. I've always been an avid reader, and even though parenthood has taken my book consumption down an order of magnitude, I'm always reading something. Now I'm frequently writing something as well. Will it clear up that foggy window into the past ten years hence? No, it won't embed my memories any more firmly, but I'll be able to browse the words the way some folks browse photo albums, and since words are my sea, I'll swim here more readily.
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