One Last Bit of Fatherly Advice

When my Father-in Law's health started to fail, Francie and I moved to Tyler to help with the family photography business.  Jim passed away not long after that.  That was thirteen years ago.  One-third of the thirty-nine years that Batten Photography has been in business.

As many of you know, this Saturday, we will close the doors for the last time.  This is our choice, we are retiring.  It is time to move on to other things.  We are happy, and excited to be starting a new adventure.  But closing a business that has been in the family for thirty-nine years can be an emotional experience.

 

In our studio, there is a large electronic piece of equipment that Jim installed many years ago.  It hangs from the ceiling, and supports 15-ft long aluminum poles that move photographic backgrounds up and down. For thirteen years I have hated this thing.  It works perfectly in every way except when it comes time to change out backgrounds.  This has become the one chore that I despise more than any other.  One end of the pole has to be removed, and still supported while you remove the other end.  And I for one, find it impossible to hold both ends of a 15-foot long pole over my head at the same time.  I always had to get someone to help.  

 

I often complained about this, and Francie would say, "Daddy always did this by himself." And I would respond, "I wish he'd show me how, because I'm not strong enough or smart enough to do it alone."

Yesterday, I was dismantling this piece of equipment.  It has been sold to another photographer, a long-time friend of Jim's.  As I removed the last piece, I noticed something that had been almost impossible to see until that moment. Two coat hangers, bent into loops, were suspended from the ceiling near each end of the support poles.  My first thought was "Why would Jim do this?"  Followed immediately by "NOW HE TELLS ME!"  

Jim, I heard you laughing all day long!