"You Are Here"

And here I am.  It's been a while since I've posted and I don't have any good stories about why.  I've just been a little bit stuck.  Perhaps the same has happened to you and I appreciate your patience.  I'm glad to be back and I am glad you came back too.

Did you realize this is the blog's 5th birthday???  Time flies, right?  The very first post was right after Christmas 2007.  Think how the family has changed in the last 5 years!  Wow.  I'm humbled.

I was listening to an interview with author Simon Garfield recently on NPR.  He has recently released a book called On the Map.  I love maps and this interview pointed out an interesting outcome of the digital revolution.  It's not as often that we open a paper map and use our finger to pinpoint our location by dragging your finger up and down, back and forth.  We have to locate ourselves on the map before we can figure out how to reach the destination-- at least that's how it works on a paper map.

These days, we are much more likely to open a map app which automatically points to our location.  We start out right at our location without having to find it for ourselves.  And then the app locates our destination without any finger dragging, index checking and G-down- 4 across style searches.  Technology puts us in the center of our worlds.  It's no wonder digital natives can seem so self centered!  It really is all about them. 

But, back in the day, there were other means of finding ourselves and those we loved.  The newspapers kept us informed and made sure the entire neighborhood knew:

Local newspapers kept careful track of residents, so it should be no surprise that people like your grandfather kept careful track of their own lives.  Thanks to Angela and family, we have some very precious memories from James Coffarelli's time in service of his country. 

James clearly had a sense of humor:

These are pictures carefully pasted into an album specifically about his time in the service during World War I when he was shipped to Italy.

I don't believe this soldier is your grandfather, but I think the little heart and arrow draw a pretty accurate picture of him without using film.

I had to include this one because it reminds me so much of the pictures Nick took while in Italy last spring. 

Think perhaps these women were related?  I think they all know EXACTLY where they are!