Unanswered

You know how you will sometimes go into those vintage or antique shops, sometimes there will be old stuff, sometimes not, but frequently there will be a box or two of photographs and post cards? I always stop at those little collections and quickly flip through them, snapshots of a moment in a life, in a search for photos with bikes in them. Usually the search is futile but, every so often, ends in success. 

It is always kind of sad doing so, especially when the photos are of people. At first there is hope in the hunt, but as it progresses without success, hope turns to disregard, photos get skipped and the search turns into a sort of sample survey. Though there is often something I can relate to, there is never anything personal, and yet the sadness persists. How did these images of these people come to end up here being sold to complete strangers for a dollar or two? Yes this foolish stranger spent two bucks for a photo of someone I don't even know simply because it also shows a bicycle.

Time and again I wonder about the same questions: Who was this person? What was her name? Did she have any nicknames? What was her age? Why was this photo taken? Was there some significance to the day? The time? What kind of bike is that? Did she have siblings? What was her family life like? What happened to her? Is she still alive? Was there no family left to inherit this photo? Did no one want to? Did no one realize it would end up in a vintage shop being looked at by strangers who have not a clue?