Monday, January 15, 2007

Mort Krahling

Mort on a visit to Cape Cod in 1994. The child is a neighbor.
Received a stack of photos from Judy Platz the other day. Photos Mort had taken on Cape Cod and in Kent. The backs were all neatly labeled by his brother Bill. Many I had seen before, some were new, especially the Kent photos. Mort must have made lots of copies. He went wild when I gave him the camera for Christmas one year.

Judy hopes to have the Mss of his poems edited by March. It will be reduced to 60 pages. I don't know if my essay or parts of it re: Mort will be included.

This make me very glad. That his family cared so much as to continue with this project for almost 9 years. Gathering, editing. Mort died in 1998. Bill died a year ago. But seeing these photos Mort took with Bill's notations also makes me sad at the ephemeral nature of all things. I have the photos now, but where will they go when I die? Will everything I did, everything I've saved: the memory books and scrap books and photo albums, and everything I've made, including writings and craftworks, all just dissolve into nothing? Disappear, as I will disappear?

Mort couldn't know that his brother would try to put together a book of his poems, or that the work would be passed on to Judy Platz. He died not knowing what would happen to his poems on scraps of paper. That seems sad to me. He so wanted acknowledgement.

Best to acknowledge people when they are alive, eh? Best to tell people how much they and their work mean to us when they can hear it.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I have my grandmother's photo albums and scrapbooks, my mother's memory boxes, all sorts of things no one else seems to want. It's the story of their lives, really....and when I go, I think it will go, too. I have a box with my grandfather's letters and stories he began but never finished. There must be so much of this out in the world. It's sad in a way, but also rather tender, don't you think? All those words and pictures, promises and dreams floating around out there in the universe....and yes, it is good to appreciate what each of us does and to say, hey, I see you, I hear you....take heart! And that goes for you, too....;-)

sukipoet said...

Thanks for your thoughtful comment Mary. But you have 2 daughters. Perhaps one of them will want these things. You never know. S.

Anonymous said...

right now my daughters just roll their eyes...but they are still young and I hope they will become more interested. I was interested even when I was their age....which is how I've ended up with all this stuff....I think it may end up as art....

HeidiK said...

Susan, I am so glad that Uncle Ron's photos (sorry never think of him as Mort) made their way to you. Mom and I just knew as we went through the Mort project items that the photos belonged with you - so glad Judy was able to locate you.