Week 11 Journal Assignment

Q: What do you wish you could have a photograph of?

The late stand-up comic Mitch Hedburg once said:

"One time a guy handed me a picture of himself and he said. "Here's a picture of me when I was younger." Every picture of you is when you were younger. Here's a picture of me when I'm older. How'd you pull that off? Let me see that fucking camera."

I wish I had a photograph of myself 20 years from now (which would make me 41). Would I still be alive? I hope so. If not, would anybody be able to tell me (from looking at the image) how long ago I had died. I suspect that carbon-dating cannot be performed on photographs. If chance should have it that I am alive and well, it would interest me to see what I look like. Did I gain weight? Do I look happy? Am I alone? Was I involved in a freak automobile accident rendering my face hideously deformed (like Tom Cruise in Vanilla Sky)? The next, and probably more important, question would be whether, or not, my awareness of this destiny played a role in the actual occurrence of it.
I suppose in the grand scheme of all the photographs I could potentially wish for, this is a slightly frivolous pursuit. Nevertheless, it’s my wish and I’ll do as I please with it. However self-indulgent it might be, I would find it impossible to resist. A window providing a glimpse of the future is, as far as I know, a rare privilege. Who am I to turn it down…?