The Wind Blows It All Away

by Bob Sprankle

14 comments

1 Gail Desler { 03.17.09 at 7:51 am }

This is a gem, Bob. Switching from voice over stills to video and then adding the phone conversation really moves your story along.

I remember in recent years showing a video camera to my elderly father, who commented that my daughter’s generation was likely to be a generation of inane memories…Not if they watch The Wind Blows It All Away.

Heading off to find that shoebox and call my brother.

2 Deborah Barrows { 03.17.09 at 8:15 am }

Dear Bob,

Your creativity blows me away! I loved watching this movie. For the past year, I’ve been trying to decide what to do with the boxes of family albums and slides that sit in my garage and thought I should divide them up. But after watching this, I’m thinking maybe I shouldn’t. You’ve given me something to think about!

Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts and pictures.

Deb

3 Nancy { 03.17.09 at 10:24 am }

Well first, thank you for sharing. It’s so powerful, the pacing, music and your voice really allowed me to sink into the subject and reflect while taking it in. I was also thinking about it on several levels, such as family dispersal and recording our lives in old and newer ways and the benefits and downfalls of each. Thank you again for sharing this!

4 Steven Kimmi { 03.17.09 at 2:04 pm }

I am moved to tears. Having lost my mother in my early 20s and going through the fallout of being the youngest (having less pictures) and recieving the least of the grand picture disbursement, this hits very class to home.

Also, my wife and her sibling are planning an Anniversary party for their parents and they are in the process of reorganizing of all the family photos. There are piles of old empty albums lying on our basement floor. Watching this, I feel a slight sense of regret. And I think they would to, there is so much nostalgia tied up in more than just the pictures.

But as you leave us all thinking, in this time of technology, do we take that for granted, considering quantity better than quality.

Each year, as a Christmas present to my family, I compile all our family pictures, and weed out many, to create a slideshow. This was year three, and we watched all three this Christmas.

I am pretty sure that I could sit here and type all day long…thank you for the good cry Bob, I owe you one.

5 DEB DAIGLE { 03.18.09 at 7:25 am }

BOB~ you are AMAZING.
I LOVE IT !
I love your voice ! …I love the beautiful tribute you did for our MOM. The picture of her was BREATH TAKING ! ( by the way I want a copy of that !) I LOVE YOU and ALL of your talents. Thank you for being you ! YOU ARE MY MENTOR…my HERO…MY BEST FRIEND !
WHAT A GIFT you have just given our whole family! I am so HONORED to have you in my life! I LOVE YOU BRO! LOVE ~ DEB

6 Mike Arsenault { 03.18.09 at 8:58 am }

Great job on this digital story Bob. I like your comment about how you take significantly more photos now that you take digital pictures. I often use this analogy with teaching. Your behaviors have changed due to the technology changing (film to digital images). How do teachers change their behaviors due to the technology changing?

7 John Tanner { 03.20.09 at 11:41 am }

Just a wonderful tribute Bob. Well done. And I would be willing to wager if you mom were still with us she would say ” Bob stop talking about it and do it”, I think you can create a new Humpty Dumpty for your children….

8 Jo Fothergill { 03.20.09 at 3:24 pm }

What a fantastic story.

9 Langwitches » links for 2009-03-30 { 03.30.09 at 6:33 pm }

[...] The Wind Blows It All Away | Bit By Bit (tags: storytelling) [...]

10 Video Resources Including how to Download UTube Videos | Eaton Educational Insights { 04.22.09 at 5:43 am }

[...]   Bob Sprankle shares his own digital story, The Wind Blows It All Away. [...]

11 Diane Main { 05.18.09 at 4:13 pm }

I really enjoyed this. A little over a year ago, we lost my Dad suddenly and unexpectedly. After I flew back to New Jersey from California for the funeral, my sister and niece and I went through lots of old pictures, some of which I had on my computer from having scanned them in a few years back (from the old albums) and some that I had never seen in all my 37 years. The latter were in boxes and such at my sister’s house. There were pictures of my father as a baby and as a young child — and I had never seen them. I, too, don’t grudge that I had never had this chance until that moment, but I felt a little surprised and left out that these snaps of my Dad existed, but it had taken his death to bring them to light before my eyes. And I am the family historian!

My husband and I have often spoken of how we have so many digital pictures of our son (age 5) that languish on hard drives. Maybe that’s why I plaster pictures of him all over Picasa and my Facebook page. In fact, my Facebook profile picture is usually my newest favorite picture of my son. Even adding captions to the Picasa albums, which only takes a few minutes, happens for only a few of the albums. You’ve inspired me to at least do more captioning.

I also have lots of video clips of my son, and going back just a few years to watch my YouTube videos of him at age 2 and 3, seeing how much he’s changed and grown, is a lot of fun. I don’t completely lament the loss of the old ways regarding capturing our family history, but there’s sure something to be said for preserving those moments in a way that can be easily shared.

12 Bob Sprankle { 05.18.09 at 5:50 pm }

Thank you Diane and all for sharing your wonderful stories!

B

13 Beth Auwarter { 05.18.09 at 7:30 pm }

Dear Bob. I sat back and really enjoyed your perceptions about the pictures of our childhood and our digital picture taking today. What a wonderful tribute you have given to your mom who obviously was a mentor for you. This inspires me to sit with my family and look at old albums together when we get together for Memorial Day. You reflected on this topic “just right.” Thank you.

14 Jeannette { 05.11.10 at 10:37 am }

I love this digital story. I’ll be sure to share it at our Teacher Summer Institute in a few weeks. Thank you for sharing your work so we may share it with additional teachers!

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