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The Bestest Christmas Present Ever
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I have been a good boy this year, no arrest record (although there's still 5 days left for the year), and no orphans or puppies were harmed under my watch. It has been a while since Santa gave me something significant or meaningful (sure that XBox was amazing last year but I actually bought that for myself, so it doesn't count).
This year, my girlfriend and I flew out to Virginia to spend the holidays with her folks. There is nothing better than spending Christmas in the east coast, it's cold, seasonal, and beautiful. We stuffed ourselves with amazing banana bread, Christmas egg burritos, and other homemade goodies.
So 5 pounds later when it became time to open presents, I was given a box from my girlfriend with a distinct smell of old leather. As I opened it I uncovered a Jiffy Kodak Series II used in World War II. As a photographer, I have an admiration for old cameras, they not only captured memories of our past, but the lens tells a thousand stories of the things they've seen. This old camera was wrapped in a well-worn leather pouch, that had an inscription of it's owner, George H. Jones, from the 97th Ordinance Service Company. You could feel the battles that this camera has witnessed by simply running your fingers along the side of it's spine.
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I don't even know if this camera still works, looks like the shutter isn't even firing. And they don't even make the old 630 film anymore, so I have to rig up 120 film to fit the spools. But it doesn't even matter if this camera will ever fire a single exposure, just holding it and touching is enough to send any historian or photographer chills down their spine.
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Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
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