No time like the past

Precious moments captured to treasure for a lifetime.

Being sentimental and romantic, I take lots of pictures; even more now since digital makes it so easy with no cost of buying and developing film. One of the reasons I like to blog is to preserve these memories. What you see here is a photo, but I feel the memories of each and every one of these photos and they evoke very meaningful moments of my life: some happy, some sad.

Although we can’t live in the past, I do love to reminisce and spend a sentimental Sunday.

I think of happy days of my childhood, which feel like yesterday and sometimes a lifetime ago.

Today is my brother’s birthday. I dedicate this post to Johnny Dietmar.

Johnny on his first car. Little did my parents know, as they sat him up on the hood of this Opel, that one day he would die in a car accident (he was only 18).

A bear park in Germany. I cried because I was terrified; Johnny laughed. My mom told me in later years why Johnny wasn’t scared. He told her he noticed the bear was wearing shoes so it couldn’t be a real bear. Smart kid!

Brotherly love. In every photo of Johnny and me, we are smiling, but we also had the usual sibling rivalry not captured in pictures. I was four and he was six.

Johnny the drummer boy. He was an amazing drummer with the talent of Sandy Nelson. I couldn’t tell if it was Johnny playing his drums in the basement or if I was hearing a record blasting with Sandy Nelson. He played in a local band in the ’60s and I was a Go-Go Girl with the little white go-go boots.

Johnny in California. Some of the last photos in 1968 (the year of his death). These photos were taken in Van Nuys, California.

The mystery girl. I’m including it to ask for your help. Johnny had been communicating with her when he returned back home to Canada and was quite fond of her. I would so much like to find her to tell her that Johnny died, because I’m sure she wondered why he never wrote back to her.

Please share this photo on social media with this message:

Do you know this girl? Photo from 1968, Van Nuys, California. She would be in her 60s now. The young man is my brother Johnny Czech who died in a car accident not long after this photo was taken. Please contact me on Twitter @carmencoburn

Thank you so much!!

❤ carmen