Serendipitous Paths Newly Traveled — An Unexpected Find
This is the story behind the featured photo of two signs, two different artist renderings, two separate hospital structures, and two different centuries. But, the mission is the same: ‘To Make Man Whole.’
One of the most exciting things about writing or blogging is the research — the combing and perusing through old documents in search of answers whether they can be found in articles, images such as photographs, artwork, or other mediums is something I love. When a topic presents itself, I commence applying, in no particular order the: how, why, what, when, and who. Initially, some of these anchors in storytelling can be roadblocks. There are times when I go down the maze-like paths of research and discovery, the “why” of the writer’s creed will begin to reverberate in my doubting head: The “Why” comes front and center: “Why, Why” are you doing this? I press on. I find a nugget that may be pertinent to the subject at hand, and I’ll file it away. My file gets thicker with scribbled notes on scraps of papers, including napkins, and yes, there are those hastily cut clippings.
Like the archeologist on a dig, they don’t know what they may have found until they begin to sift through all of the excavated material. They have an idea, and so they press on. But at the end of the day, their efforts will be a boon or a bust. On the other hand, the bust may turn out to be a serendipitous discovery on a path newly traveled in an area least expected. I found myself in this circumstance this morning. I had been going through 50-year old periodicals (for a considerable amount of time) for a specific item. I knew if it existed, it would be in a three-to-four-year period.
Turning page after page in volume after volume, the preverbal “WHY” began to echo in my head. “Why! Why am I wasting my time? Why am I consuming all this time? No one will notice. The story still can be told. But, if the item existed, the story would be enhanced. As I turned a page, a black and white photo taken over fifty years ago stood out. Wow, there was a photo, which I least expected, a photo that was not even on my radar. Unbeknownst to me at the time, this unexpected find was the result of misreading a volume number, which had caused me to veer from the defined search range. I was off by four years, on a newly traveled path turning pages in a timeline where the searched-for gem would never be discovered. But the newly traveled path led me to a find that would enrich the story by juxtaposing this photo with an image in another file. Thus the featured image of this blog.
“WHERE ACRES OF ORANGE GROVES used to be, an attractive sign now stands tall, carrying the architectural sketch of the projected Loma Linda University Medical Center. Last week there were traces of bonfires with orange logs burning long and lusty where the medical center will be, . . . .”
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