Sometimes we don't notice things are missing until they are gone.
That's not a feeble attempt to sound like Yogi Berra. But who knew that New York's iconic Greek-themed paper coffee cups were an endangered species and that so many people cared?
According to the New York Times, these cups define Manhattan as much as the Statue of Liberty and are coveted as film and TV props by directors who want their New York scenes to look as authentic as possible.
Cardboard cup salesman Leslie Buck, who is credited with redefining the city's coffee shop landscape, died last week at age 87. It's wonderful that he got artistic credit for creating the beloved cup, which features the simple customer service slogan "We Are Happy To Serve You."
The Sherri Cup Company in Kensington, Conn., estimated that it sold more than 500 million cups with the design from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Buck, who had no background in graphic design, used the Greek national colors, Greek fonts and iconography to appeal to the numerous diners operated by Greek immigrants.
Although he overcame unspeakable tragedies in his life -- surviving two Nazi concentration camps --he'll be remembered for a fun-spirited paper cup, which he called the "Anthora."
"On the street, it warms the harried hands of pedestrians," his Times obituary notes. "Without the Anthora, “Law & Order” could scarcely exist."
"...It is safe to assume that the Anthora and its heirs will endure, at least for a while, in the city’s steadfast precincts. For some time to come, on any given day, somewhere a New Yorker will be cradling the cup, with its crisp design and snug white lid, the stuff of life inside."
There are countless untold stories like Leslie Buck's out there, and our Reel Profiles documentary crews are devoted to capturing them.
What family or community stories would you like to preserve forever? Drop us a line and let's brainstorm about how best to honor and celebrate your unsung heroes!
Tiger Woods. Blah. Blah. Blah. Sex Scandal. Blah. Blah. Blah. Pre-Nup. Blah. Blah. Blah. Mistresses. Blah. Blah. Blah.
In this era when no one wants to take a stand on anything, we certainly stipulate that adultery is selfish, mean-spirited and morally wrong.
But the Libertarian streak in us also makes us wonder why so many Americans care about the infidelity updates flashing across our screens every 10 minutes.
WHO CARES?!?
Let Tiger sort out his own family problems and let's focus instead on the people we care about. How about paying tribute to our parents or grandparents who have been married for (gasp!) 50 years or even 75 years!
Aside from a fabulous deli platter, there's no better way to celebrate these kind of happy life milestones than commissioning a personal documentary for a community screening and for future generations....
OK, we do wanna make one comment about the Tiger Woods thing. If you have to pay someone to stay married to you, maybe it's not a healthy relationship.
Screenwriters Mike Bender and Doug Chernack, founders of AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com, are the latest feel-good Internet success story. But they also may have inadvertently changed the character of future family tree research.
Right now, if you try to dig up information on three or four generations back, you'll be lucky to get a birth certificate, military record or a passenger list of a steamship. If you are super-lucky, you might be able to unearth an old sepia-toned studio picture in which no one in the family is smiling.
Was life miserable back then -- or was there just horrible customer service at the first photography studios?
Fast forward to 2109. The descendants of Australian science fiction novelist Sean Williams will be able to see him pretend to choke his mother.
THE CHOKER
Williams' legacy is already well affirmed as the author of best-selling novel, "Star Wars: The Force Unleashed."
He also is the world's only science fiction novelist to create a character who speaks only in the lyrics of British pop star Gary Numan (remember the MTV video "Cars" when MTV played videos?)
He now can add Awkward Family Photo fame to his legacy. Williams is the well-dressed teenage strangler.
"Obviously, it's a joke, something I did to pass the time while waiting for the photographer to get the lenses or lighting right and mum played up to it nicely," he says. "Somewhere in my photo album is the staged snap he took thirty seconds later, but I've always preferred this one. It colorfully captures the dynamic of my family in a single glance."
"There's so much in the shot that I love," adds Williams. "My dad's shorts, the mock-choking, my sister's glare (and her clothes), my digital watch. People have responded to all of that, and that did surprise me. I thought the photo, if it appeared on the site at all, would barely be noticed."
Sean's father was an Anglican priest who cherished a relaxed dress code outside of church.
"He did play Australian Rules football, but that's as close as he got to being a gym teacher," Williams recalls. "He died in the 90s, but I like to think he would have found this all rather hilarious. His fashion sense was just awful!"
BUT BACK TO THOSE SEPIA-TONED SNAPSHOTS that document many of our family history stories.
Does anyone out there have ancestors who liked to smile?
What will future generations think about your family photos? Any gag pictures in your wedding album that would make a hilarious part of your family history? What pictures of your parents, grandparents or great-grandparents make you laugh?
Send us your favorite pictures and the backstory!
A personal documentary is the kind of investment that can't be wiped out by a cruddy economy.
Future generations will be able to skip the DVD biographies about Paris Hilton or Justin Timberlake and snack on popcorn while enjoying your life story -- or the amazing lives of your parents, grandparents or other "real" people who have inspired you.
Make your family tree a family documentary tree -- or even better, commission a film to celebrate your personal hero at a tribute dinner, birthday or anniversary celebration.
It's a much more engaging approach than thetraditional scrapbook or photo slideshow, harvestingarchival research and incorporating American history and world events.
Back in the 1920s, pilot Anne Wood-Kelly was told that little girls didn't learn how to fly airplanes. In the 1930s, she was told that teenage girls didn't learn how to fly airplanes. In the 1940s, she left Maine to volunteer for the British Royal Air Force to ferry planes to fight the Nazis.
Reel Profile documentaries include personal life stories, military histories, family histories, business profiles and celebrations of religious and nonprofit organizations. For more information, drop us a line about your amazing story.