Absence of Memory

Absence of Memory (2013): an image that, perhaps surprisingly, holds within its frame an assortment of facts, feelings, and vignettes of another time.

My first roll of color film.

The slow drive down 31 South.

Chocolate Steak 'n Shake milkshakes for grandpa.

The nursing home.

The door code and guest log.

The smells.

The piano in the cafeteria.

Grandpa sitting, sleeping, always it seemed.

Grandma's unending care.

The last sentence he said that reminded us of him.

The publication of this photo in DePauw's The Midwestern Review.

Grandpa's memory, gone over the course of six years. Mine continuing to fade too, though slowly, unaggressively, until that day when I pass into eternity with him, where all memory remains.