What would Captain Picard do?
My mom woke me up this morning and told me I had to do some banking so I was up a few hours earlier than usual and feeling weird. I went and did my banking but then I didn't feel like going home yet. On a whim, I went to Target. I wasted time looking at housewares and cameras and thinking about at this time last year I was on a road trip, preparing to move out of my parents into my first apartment, and getting ready to start university. It doesn't feel that far away and yet it also feels like a million years ago. Things have changed so much; I've changed so much. After a while, I started thinking about autumn and, of course, Hallowe'en. I felt the strangest tug of nostalgia and in the super low air conditioning I could almost convince myself it was October except that this October, I'll be across the ocean, no doubt freezing. Of course, my faux-October evaporated when I stepped out into the blistering Florida summer heat.
I decided to go to Jo-Ann's Fabrics just to see if they had anything worth buying (I was also probably still in the Hallowe'en state of mind because around Hallowe'en, Jo-Ann's is like heaven). On the left side of the store, they had already placed out some autumnal decorations. I walked over and was once again overcome with the nostalgic longing for autumn. I actually started crying a little bit as I looked at boughs of red and orange leaves, pumpkins fashioned out of wicker, and signs saying things like, "Our Harvest Home." The end of the autumn decorations lead me to the scrapbooking section which brought me back to date when I saw one of those pre-packaged decal kits filled with things about London. I bought one (and some ribbon, which is one of my weird obsessons).
When I got back to my car, I saw that this weird vintage car had parked next to me. So, of course I Polaroided it.
I was driving home when I saw the Salvation Army and thought about some stories people have told me about finding treasure troves of old Polaroids or expired film (which had yet to happen to me). Traffic was rather heavy and I thought, "I only go if the road clears for me to turn." It did. I walked into the Salvation Army and looked at all the odds and ends and had a laugh about a ghost mug before slowly finding the cameras (next to the kitchen utensils of all places). As I walked up, a little girl was playing with a camera, pretending to take photos of things. I walked over and she asked me how to work it. I told her it probably needed film but she was doing it right otherwise then I picked up a Polaroid 600 and told her that it was probably what she really wanted. There were three of them there and one even had a pack of film. They were $12.99. When I opened up the Polaroid to show her she gasped in amazement and quickly starting pretending to take photo graphs of everything. She ran to her nana to ask it she could have the camera. I overheard the woman tell her no even as the little girl said she could send her mommy things. When she came back she asked me where I had picked it up and then put it back. She explained that her nana wouldn't let her get it. She wasn't sad for long and she continued to point things out to me ("This is for scooping cake up!" "That's a birdhouse!") Soon her nana called her back and I continued browsing. I had kind of planned to buy the camera with the film if only to keep the film and sell the camera on eBay or something. I mean, it was the price of one pack of film. I approached the register and an idea formed in my head. I paid for the camera and film and then sought out the little girl and her nana. When I found them, I stood in front of their cart and said, "Hi." The woman regarded me suspiciously so I quickly said, "I just bought this and I was wondering if it would be okay for me to give it to her?" The woman looked very surprised and only nodded. I smiled as I gave the little girl the camera and said, as in explaination, "I just think everyone needs a Polaroid in the their life." They both thanked me and as I was walking out the door I heard the little girl tell her nana that she had been talking to me about the cameras and the woman saying to her granddaughter that it was very nice as her voice was choked up with tears. I barely made it out of the parking lot before I started crying. Great heaving sobs of complete happiness. My mom called and after hearing my voice she asked if anything was wrong. I told her I was just happy and she said it didn't sound like it. I told her I was driving and couldn't talk. When I hung up, I started to cry harder. It's completely inconsequential in the grand scheme, but Polaroids are one of my top three favorite things ever and now I have shared that with a little girl. I'm not stupid enough to think that that camera will change her life or anything ridiculous like that but I am stupid (and emotional and strange and and and) to know that giving that little girl a Polaroid will, and has, changed my life. I keep wondering how much of it was coincidence. I mean, if I hadn't gone on to Target and Jo-Ann's or if I only went to one or if traffic hadn't let me go to Salvation Army, would this have happened? Unlikely. Is it part of some greater plan of the universe? I don't know. I do know that I could've kept the camera and sold it on eBay and invested in money but since I gave it away I feel like I have invested in myself and God, I feel richer than ever.
I decided to go to Jo-Ann's Fabrics just to see if they had anything worth buying (I was also probably still in the Hallowe'en state of mind because around Hallowe'en, Jo-Ann's is like heaven). On the left side of the store, they had already placed out some autumnal decorations. I walked over and was once again overcome with the nostalgic longing for autumn. I actually started crying a little bit as I looked at boughs of red and orange leaves, pumpkins fashioned out of wicker, and signs saying things like, "Our Harvest Home." The end of the autumn decorations lead me to the scrapbooking section which brought me back to date when I saw one of those pre-packaged decal kits filled with things about London. I bought one (and some ribbon, which is one of my weird obsessons).
When I got back to my car, I saw that this weird vintage car had parked next to me. So, of course I Polaroided it.
I was driving home when I saw the Salvation Army and thought about some stories people have told me about finding treasure troves of old Polaroids or expired film (which had yet to happen to me). Traffic was rather heavy and I thought, "I only go if the road clears for me to turn." It did. I walked into the Salvation Army and looked at all the odds and ends and had a laugh about a ghost mug before slowly finding the cameras (next to the kitchen utensils of all places). As I walked up, a little girl was playing with a camera, pretending to take photos of things. I walked over and she asked me how to work it. I told her it probably needed film but she was doing it right otherwise then I picked up a Polaroid 600 and told her that it was probably what she really wanted. There were three of them there and one even had a pack of film. They were $12.99. When I opened up the Polaroid to show her she gasped in amazement and quickly starting pretending to take photo graphs of everything. She ran to her nana to ask it she could have the camera. I overheard the woman tell her no even as the little girl said she could send her mommy things. When she came back she asked me where I had picked it up and then put it back. She explained that her nana wouldn't let her get it. She wasn't sad for long and she continued to point things out to me ("This is for scooping cake up!" "That's a birdhouse!") Soon her nana called her back and I continued browsing. I had kind of planned to buy the camera with the film if only to keep the film and sell the camera on eBay or something. I mean, it was the price of one pack of film. I approached the register and an idea formed in my head. I paid for the camera and film and then sought out the little girl and her nana. When I found them, I stood in front of their cart and said, "Hi." The woman regarded me suspiciously so I quickly said, "I just bought this and I was wondering if it would be okay for me to give it to her?" The woman looked very surprised and only nodded. I smiled as I gave the little girl the camera and said, as in explaination, "I just think everyone needs a Polaroid in the their life." They both thanked me and as I was walking out the door I heard the little girl tell her nana that she had been talking to me about the cameras and the woman saying to her granddaughter that it was very nice as her voice was choked up with tears. I barely made it out of the parking lot before I started crying. Great heaving sobs of complete happiness. My mom called and after hearing my voice she asked if anything was wrong. I told her I was just happy and she said it didn't sound like it. I told her I was driving and couldn't talk. When I hung up, I started to cry harder. It's completely inconsequential in the grand scheme, but Polaroids are one of my top three favorite things ever and now I have shared that with a little girl. I'm not stupid enough to think that that camera will change her life or anything ridiculous like that but I am stupid (and emotional and strange and and and) to know that giving that little girl a Polaroid will, and has, changed my life. I keep wondering how much of it was coincidence. I mean, if I hadn't gone on to Target and Jo-Ann's or if I only went to one or if traffic hadn't let me go to Salvation Army, would this have happened? Unlikely. Is it part of some greater plan of the universe? I don't know. I do know that I could've kept the camera and sold it on eBay and invested in money but since I gave it away I feel like I have invested in myself and God, I feel richer than ever.