Saturday at the Photo lab

I was at the local photo lab today. A regular customer I am. They are like a family to me.

After I had completed the choosing of the photos I wished printed up, I was at the counter, waiting the two to five minutes it takes for my photos to be ready. It was a quiet day there, not good for the company but peaceful for me.

I was given to thought as I stood silently, waiting for the photos. Actually, I was thinking that I wanted to hurry and get them, so I could continue my day's journeys. Then I was caught up by the photo process and the passing of years. Not THAT long ago, we took in a role of film and it was ready in a week or two. We could also send film via mail. That gave way to the one week processing and then 2-3 day processing. And wow! What about the new ONE HOUR photos!!

Now I stand for the short, few minutes, receive my beautiful prints, (and it seems no matter how many I order, the time from my pressing "order" to the time the photos are in my hand is a mere few minutes), and shake my head at not only the "advancement" of the photo industry, but more in the pathetic American feelings of "instant gratification". Was I REALLY wanting the lab to "hurry" from 5 minutes to 2 minutes for my photos?

This caught me up short and gave me pause. I could only think, take a deep breath, smell the roses, look at the sky, think of the ocean, the beauty of the mountains, and realize that life is way to swift, and we are way to anxious to move on to the next moment without appreciating the present.