Writing Exercise
Find a picture from your past and write a short story of how the picture was taken. If you don’t want to use your picture, use a free one online.
Side Note
For this exercise, I used a picture of my Papa, my mom’s step-dad. I am putting together a shadow box in his and my grandma’s memory and it was sitting next to me on the couch, so I used it. He was a Navy Chief on a ship that blew up during the Normandy Invasion. He got a purple heart for rescuing others from his ship. I will leave a picture of the narrative of the ship my Papa was on, the USS Tide (AM-125). He survived and lived a long life until he passed November 25, 2009. I miss him and my grandma dearly.
My Writing
A man in uniform stood at the ready as he waited for his turn to get his picture taken. He fixed his Navy Chief cap as it tried to slide forward on his head. He turned to see one of his buddies was standing behind him, trying to look innocent. His buddy turned around and whistled a little before he looked back at the man in front of him.
“Jeez, Tim, you nearly knocked my cap off,” William said, as he straightened his jacket. William chuckled at his friend and wagged his finger.
Tim grinned and shrugged. “Oops?”
“Uh huh, sure, oops.”
William and Tim laughed and chatted while they waited for their turn. They said hi to the other men in line and talked about work and family life outside of the military.
“Chief Smith? We are ready for you,” a young woman said. She turned and walked back into a separate room where the photographer waited for them.
William grinned at Tim and straightened his cap again before he followed the young woman. He stood in front of the photographer and followed the man’s directions, doing a few poses while the camera clicked away.
The photographer shook his head when he finished taking a picture, the poses not working for him. “I’m not happy with any of these. Let’s try one more pose.” He grabbed a few boxes and stacked them in front of William. He used a cloth to cover the boxes before he returned to the camera. “Okay William, let’s try this. Stand up straight behind the boxes and place your left arm resting on the boxes.”
William did as he was instructed and held still. The photographer grinned and looked at his assistant after he clicked the button to snap the picture into existence forever. “That’s the winning picture.” He shook William’s hand. “Thank you, Chief Smith. I can’t wait to print this out and give it to you. My best one yet for the day.”
William chuckled and thanked the photographer. He removed his cap and walked out of the room. William brushed his fingers through his short hair as he looked around the just outside the building they had used for the picture taking. He sat his cap back on his head and headed back towards the USS Tide so he could get back to work.
What a great history. Glad he made it home alive, but I’m sure the memory of that day lived on for him in lots of way, said or unsaid. It’s something some don’t understand until forced to live it in some way, the trauma of fear, death and uncertainty. This is a great way to honor his memory.
Thank you. I loved him dearly and when we lost him to suffering 2 strokes, it was definitely hard saying good bye. But I remember him, my grandma, and my other grandparents and all of our wonderful memories together.