a kiss for owen eckblom

a kiss for owen eckblom by comment dit-on

My world just got bigger. Or smaller, I suppose.

A photograph I took last year got this response:

periodically, i search the web for this name ... today, I found your pic. we had a complicated relationship - he was my father ... he was part of my heart even though he left when i was 6. we tried again when i was 26 - there was too much pain. today, i'm 52. i missed his life. i missed his death. i missed him. your pic brought me some closure - i knew he had died - now i know where he is. if you are willing, please share the story of this photo with me.
many thanks,
formerly ... jennifer gail eckblom

I took the photo because the headstone stood out in the sea of white marble and anonymous names. Although it might seem that there's nothing more personal than one's name, seeing name after name in the same chiseled font in the Ft. Rosecrans cemetary was incredibly impersonal. This kiss, left by someone who loved Owen enough to leave a mark on his mausoleum, made his headstone personal. It reminded me that inside the crypt were the remains of an individual, with his own complicated story.

I just got a piece of that story and the lives he touched. To me, this was a snapshot of a stranger's name on a stab of stone. For Jennifer, it was closure.