Source: flickr.com via Free-Choice on Pinterest

Mark and I cleaned out the A/V closet in the auditorium this morning.  We uncovered a stash of broken slide projectors dating back several decades.  The picture above shows a partial sample of what we found, which included bulbs, lenses, carousels, carrying cases and at least one IR remote.

I suspect that the State of Oregon maintains a secret Bureau of Antiquated Projectors (BAP), which is dedicated to filling every available storage space with 1970s hardware (with fake wood paneling, when available).  There’s one in the closet, just in case.  There are a few upstairs awaiting surplus inventory.  Maureen requisitioned one for office use.  There’s probably a stack of them hiding in that first bathroom stall that nobody ever uses because everybody thinks it’s the one everybody else uses.

I actually like slides, film and paper because they have a permanence that digital formats cannot yet replace.  We can still see, touch and read documents (preserved in stone, paper or rope) from thousands of years ago.  Sumerian government memos.  Inca agricultural inventories.  Personal correspondence from the Roman Empire.  Ancient Egyptian jokes.

Will future generations know us by our projectors?  Call the BAP.