Toby Jensky's Photo Archive, cont.

I found out that Toby Jensky actually marries the photographed man appearing in the photo archive: Jason Patrick Gurney -surprising because in all her letters mentioning the men she had had a relationship with, Pat Gurney is not a name I remember. Romantically, she met him while tending his wounds.

I find it all a little frustrating -my continued investigation of the photo archive. These were heirlooms, priceless memorabilia of a very personal, one-in-a-lifetime experience. Now, my gloved hands have the tedious duty to extract all of the tiny, the blurry, the unidentified characters. My eyes give a cursory scan of the photo, judging any salient quality. And seconds later, I return them to their sterility in an envelop, in a folder, in a box, on a shelf in a library. I feel also though I 'm doing these memories a disservice, but for the life of me, even with the good quality photos, I can't seem to draw any new conclusions.

I see a cute photograph of Jensky sitting on steps with smiling, Spanish children -all giving a fisted salute.

I see a postcard, never sent. It depicts a stampede of children in the campo. There are a few adult figures, but there has to be hundreds and hundreds of children filing a dusty road. I suppose that this is a children's colony or an orphanage. The chaos, the lack of adult supervision is apparent.

I open a new folder -"Spanish Women". None of them are named; the photos don't note place or date but I enjoy looking this pretty and smiling faces. There is a photo of a young woman in field sunbathing. She is wearing plain but diaphanous clothing. She must have been spunky. I am also reminded that whatever social gains these progressive women made during the second republic, Franco swiftly demolished. In my own mind, I hold spanish women on a pedestal, the apex of beauty, style and character. I realize that I see what I what to see in the photos. I have to be wary that see these for their intrinsic value and not for the personal value I place on them.

These photos certainly satisfied my voyeurism, but I feel as though I haven't gained anything tangible. I'm reminded of the hermeneutic circle. I must have patience and try to absorb the

fragments. These pieces will comprise a fuller understanding.