“Your memories will be deleted on December 05, 2016.”
That’s an attention-grabbing email subject line. “What memories?” I wondered, thinking of how my memory bank has dimmed – even before I started chemo.
I opened the email and clicked the link. I clicked on the ‘My Account’ tab and took a guess at the password. A miracle! I was in. Then I clicked on ‘My Library’ and there they were!
Ahhh yes, NOW I remember! About 20 years ago, I’d volunteered to be the keeper of all Dad’s home movies – some dating to the 1940s – before they degraded to dust. My ex-husband and I bought an old Craigslist 8mm movie projector, set up a white cardboard screen onto which we projected a lifetime of old film reels. Crude, but that grainy footage would at least be preserved onto latest video technology: VHS tapes the size of a thick paperback. Surely there would be nothing more technologically advanced than VHS – right?
Hundreds of 6-minute film reels were consolidated into five volumes which I called The Murphy Chronicles. I made copies of the VHS tapes for my brothers. All of us had spent many many hours on Memory Lane – back in the olden days when each of us owned a VHS player.
I remembered that my former bookkeeper had questioned me about auto-renewing a subscription service called iMemories. I didn’t recognize it and instructed her to stop paying. That was more than two years ago. Thank goodness they’d given me a grace period!
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My Dad was a movie guy. He spoke about looting a camera from some Germans when he was stationed in Austria at the end of the war, trying to conceal it from his commanding officer. Thereafter, he invested in every movie camera upgrade. When we were old enough, a new video camera was under the tree every Christmas morning.
Our basement was the place where most of the Murphy parties were held: birthdays and Christmases with Santa. Neighborhood parties, too. Dad always had his movie camera at the ready, complete with massive lights that caused us all to squint.
I couldn’t resist clicking on Volume 2 which was labeled “Marilyn’s First Steps.” Here are screenshots of some fun and fabulous memories from the Murphy Chronicles!
You can’t keep a good girl down!
One of the earliest movies – my parent’s wedding in 1943. Filmed in color, no less!
Santa – always a crowd favorite!
Packed and ready to roll – on one of our early summer vacations with a pop-up camper we borrowed from our Uncle Ferris.
Dad, Mom and oldest brother Jim sat in the front seat (of our non-air conditioned station wagon). Gear was packed in the homemade plywood car-top carrier – leaving room in the back for us younguns to romp around (no seatbelts), play games, take naps and – every once in awhile – watch the scenery go by!
There were dozens of films from our summer vacation trips. Unfortunately, most of them featured too many minutes of scenery and not enough of the family! (Envision watching water spill over Niagara Falls for 4 minutes of a 6-minute film!)
The only time you’ll ever see me topless!
A different time – before ‘helicopter parents’. Here I am in a stroller on a dock, unattended – without a life vest.
And my brother, Bob, driving a boat – at about age 3! (No life vests…)
My mother would not let me have a Barbie doll. (She probably objected to the boobs!) But my beloved Aunt Lil surprised me on my 8th birthday. I don’t think I’ve ever been so thrilled about a gift – before or after!
Okay – I need some votes! Did I (second from left) not NAIL the evening gown competition?
Unfortunately, things went downhill in the Talent Competition. I somehow assumed that donning a tutu and prancing around to make it flutter would turn me into a prima ballerina. Not so. On the right is Susie Miler with all the right moves. (No fair – she had dancing lessons!)
Susie won. She got a bouquet of red gladiolas and was paraded around the yard in a red wagon, pulled by Dan Quinnan. I never entered another beauty pageant 🙁
I had a favorite green plastic headband that I wore every day. On a trip to the east coast to visit relatives, I let my little cousin play with it. She promptly snapped it in half. I wrote to her a few years ago, teasing her about that event. She sent a note with a profuse apology – and a ten dollar bill to buy a new one!
I could go on and on and on . . . but I gotta publish this blog! There are hours and hours of footage and precious childhood memories. I hope that you are somehow organizing and preserving your memories for your kids and grandkids . . .
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10 Comments
Diane Bowen December 2, 2016 at 7:16pm
Well, tell us what you decide to do with the VHS tapes, did iMemories convert them to DVDs? Actually, I still have a VHS player combo with a DVD, supposedly you can play the VHS and record it on a DVD, I even bought 100 DVD discs…..all still sitting unused, who has time to play all those 6 hours VHS tapes and edit…I know they need editing, but maybe I’ll just have to let it run and see if it works!! On my to do list in retirement.
Marilyn December 2, 2016 at 7:52pm
Diane, all the VHS stuff has been digitized by the iMemories service and is stored there – which costs $50/year. All of this was pre-Cloud. Yes – it’s the editing that takes the time. We did no editing of Dad’s films, although that’s now an option with the iMemories service. If your oldest format is VHS – and you have a machine that will convert to DVD, sounds like you’re all set. Yes – SO many projects on the list!!
Patty Karabatsos December 2, 2016 at 8:00pm
Great pictures! Wonderful memories!
Kathleen Barry December 2, 2016 at 10:47pm
Marilyn you did have the best dress. You (& Hillary 😣) should have won!!!
Marilyn December 2, 2016 at 11:29pm
Thanks, buddy! I can always count on your vote!
Ron Murphy December 2, 2016 at 11:43pm
And just how organized are you with your miles of video and GBs and stacks of photos?
Marsha Carlson December 3, 2016 at 12:14am
Marilyn, I have just gotten the “Family History” bug and took a trip to the East Coast this summer to dig up family memories, get info from other family members, and update our Family History Book that was originally done in 1997 by one of my cousins. Included will be restoring the old 8mm films onto DVDs and putting together a book for all family members. Your blog just reminded me I need to get on that before they end up in a dust pile. Hope you are feeling well.
Julie Franz December 3, 2016 at 3:37am
What a huge project, Marilyn! I know the sad feeling when you realize the state of the art technology your memories were taken with or stored in has become ancient history. Thank Heaven they gave you a grace period! $50/year sounds pretty do-able to me! Editing is truly a bear! I wish you lots of luck! Meanwhile, insure enjoyed your walk down memory lane! Definitely a different era! 😊
Ann December 4, 2016 at 2:11pm
Marilyn, I SO enjoyed a trip down Murphy Memory Lane.. what a treasure to have! I have ONE video of my mother dancing in Riverside Drive, NYC with her younger sister.. they were in their early 20’s… and I treasure that as if it were pure gold… Hope you are doing great and wish you and the family a very beautiful Christmas season.
Nancy Goodell December 5, 2016 at 7:27pm
HOW PRECIOUS, MARILYN! THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOUR PHOTOS AND COMMENTS. BEAUTIFUL AND FUNNY MEMORIES–SUCH GIFTS!!
Nancy