The clip was captured by my dad using our trusty old – and decidedly heavy – Curtis Mathis video camera. The quality is exactly what you would expect nearly four decades on, though I'm not sure the lighting and the videographer were exactly top notch to begin with.
(I say that with all due respect to my dad, who made up for whatever he lacked in moviemaking skills with love and enthusiasm.)
No matter, though. What's important is that it captures a moment in time that, while receding further and further into the past, still vividly recalls the optimism of young adulthood.
I was a freshman at John Carroll University, while my then-fiancée Terry (seen in the last few seconds of the video) was working at Lincoln Electric and banking the money we would use to buy our first house 3 1/2 years later.
There's much to savor here, including:
- A striking resemblance between 1988 me and the 2025 version of my son Jack. People have said we look alike, and I see it here.
- A starring role for my niece Jessica, who was 3 years old at the time and the star of nearly every video my dad shot.
- Cameos from loved ones long gone (Mom, my sister Judi) and those thankfully still with us (my brother Mark, my sister-in-law Becky, my brother-in-law Jess).
- Mark with my stuffed Bill the Cat on his head.
Mine is not the first generation to have its life chronicled through home movies, though I think the VCR era did make it easier to record and watch moments like these.
