Protecting Present or Preserving Past

[Kyle Boyd-Robertson]

With Hurricane Ike Approaching and a possibility of a direct hit I am again left with this quandry of which is more important Protecting the Present or Preserving the Past. This very moment as I sit here wrestling with this dilemma I hear all around me the sounds of Protecting the Present, power saws cutting ply wood to the precisely fit pieces for a window or door and the hammering of boards to store fronts and houses up and down the streets. Through all this clammer a voice keeps screaming out to me "Preserve The Past then Protect The Present".

As others today have been spending time fortifying there domiciles and places of business I have been busy going through an endless expanse of ephemera. Every single piece means a great deal to me and now I struggle with what can I leave behind and what is irreplaceable. I've carefully set aside and boxed all my family documents, Books written by my 3rd and 4th great grandfather, a portion of my postcard and photo collection and my collection of Historical Texas Documents. After surveying the limited space in my Suburban, which will have to also accomodate my wife, daughter, two dogs, a rabbit and enough belongings and food for up to a week, I am coming to the stark realization that I will be forced to leave the better part of my postcard collection, (40,000+), at home, but I will take with me the rarer and most historically important ones.

Tomorrow starts a new day. A day of "Protecting The Present". A day of fitting precisely fit pieces of plywwod to my own home. A day of readying the shop and contacting vendors to pick up there valuables. A day of rolling up my sleeves to help other businesses down the old main street make their final preparations. I will wake up and do these things with much less turmoil and much more peace of mind only because I listend to that voice screaming out to me and know that I have taken care of the task of "Preserving the Past" and am now free to work on "Protecting The Present".

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Visit our online shop Bygone Days Postcards & Ephemera

[Persephone]

That's an incredible description, Kyle. As I clicked over to "read more," I was waiting fearfully to read what would come next. You didn't let me down. This is a dramatic, thoughtful piece.

[Valerie MacEwan]

It seems a miracle that any of us have ephemera to collect. Rain, wind, fire... those of us who love history (and ephemera collectors are the ultimate historians, right?) maintain a strange vigil during hurricane season.

Our thoughts are with you this week. Those of us on the eastern Atlantic coast know it's only a matter of time before another big one comes this way. Your preparations and those of others caused me to re-think my evacuation strategies. A quick trip to Lowe's for large Rubbermaid containers helped relieve some of the anxiety. At a moment's notice, my husband knows what to grab and place into the containers and then where to put them upstairs. We trust our roof to hold more than we are confident the Pamlico Sound will stay away from my front doorstep.

-Val

[Frank DeFreitas]

I could feel a sense of anxiety coming over me as I read of the challenges that you are facing. The question of preserving the past, or protecting the present, is enough to drive one to drink -- even if it is only decaf tea. Most of all, however, I wish safety for you and your family, and for your area in general.