A glimpse into how I spent my life in the early 1990s.
Throughout the 90s, my family would get together for the holidays and pretty much any other reason for a summer picnic you could think of. Starting around Memorial Day, my family would all commute from Elizabeth, New Jersey, to my mother’s or aunt’s house in Burlington, New Jersey and back. Everyone would have a good time, barbequing and entertaining, but my Uncle Johnny made sure to film each and every moment on his Panasonic VHS tape recorder. We all used to duck the camera, but years later little did we know we’d all appreciate his time and effort. I caught up with my Uncle last summer and managed to download all these films from DVD copies of the original VHS tapes he had made.
I had the idea for this video and song for a few years but decided to take my time putting everything together. The project started with the footage and after months of trial and error, I had finally crafted the perfect beat to accompany the song. Next were the writing and recording which took another month or so to finish. Overall the project took about 6 months, not because it was difficult, but because I wanted this song and video to be as true to my perspective on love, family, and remembrance as possible.
This video is not only a reflection of my life and childhood, it is a time capsule for a group of beautiful and wonderful people I’ve always been honored to call my family. A good amount of the faces shown are no longer with us in the physical but they’re always with us in memory and spirit.
When I released this video on Facebook back in March it sparked a fire in my family and since then everyone has been calling each other more and keeping in touch. I hope it does the same for anyone else watching. Many of my family in this video are no longer with us, people young and older. With that said, take time to love and appreciate the people that love you back, they won’t always be around. Don’t wait until it’s too late to show them you love them. Thanks for reading, listening, and watching.