A few days ago, I made a small change to the sidebar of my blog.
I added two more photographs.
They now sit above a more recent photograph of myself taken at Jumbo Lobster restaurant. At first glance, it may seem like nothing more than a few pictures placed on a webpage.
But when I looked at the three photographs together, I realized they tell a story.
They show three different versions of me at three different moments in my life.
The photograph at the top was taken about 30 years ago at the La Salle Old Boys annual dinner party.
Looking at that younger David brings back memories of another stage of life. There were different responsibilities, different friends, different activities, and a very different world. At that time, I certainly wasn't thinking about artificial intelligence, blogging, or writing stories for people I had never met.
Thirty years can pass surprisingly quickly.
The second photograph was taken in 2020 at Mr. Congee.
It was during the COVID-19 pandemic. I was holding a mask in my hand, something that became such a familiar part of everyday life during those difficult years.
That photograph reminds me how dramatically life can change.
We went from taking ordinary lunches and gatherings for granted to thinking about masks, distancing, health, and uncertainty.
And then there is the newest photograph, taken at Jumbo Lobster.
This is David today.
I am older now, of course. But I am still going out, still meeting people, still walking, still learning, still writing—and perhaps more surprisingly, still fascinated by technology.
Today I spend part of my time writing about artificial intelligence on AI123.ca. I talk with AI almost every day, look at Google Analytics, experiment with new ideas, and try to understand where technology is taking us.
Sometimes I find it amusing.
The young David from 30 years ago could hardly have imagined that one day he would be sitting at a computer having conversations with an AI companion.
Three photographs became three doors
There is another reason I decided to put these photographs on my blog.
Each photograph is linked to a story.
So when a reader sees the younger David, they can click and discover what I was doing at that time.
The 2020 photograph leads to another story.
The current photograph leads to yet another.
The photographs have therefore become more than pictures. They have become doors into different chapters of my life.
And perhaps that is what I want Grandpa Journey to be.
Not simply a collection of articles.
Not simply a record of what happened today.
But a place where different moments of my life can remain.
Time moves faster than we think
When I put the three photographs together, one thought kept coming back to me:
Where did those 30 years go?
We often think of our lives one day at a time.
We wake up, have breakfast, go for a walk, meet someone for lunch, work on something, watch the news, and go to bed.
Then another day comes.
And another.
We don't notice time disappearing while we are living it.
But put three photographs from different periods of your life next to each other, and suddenly the passage of time becomes visible.
The younger man in the first photograph.
The man living through the pandemic in the second.
And the older man sitting at Jumbo Lobster today.
They are all me.
Different ages.
Different circumstances.
Different worlds.
But somehow, the same person.
What I want to leave behind
Perhaps this is one reason I enjoy writing so much at this stage of my life.
I know I cannot stop time.
I cannot go back to the person in that photograph from 30 years ago.
But I can preserve a few memories.
I can write down what I remember.
I can tell my grandchildren what life was like.
I can record the small conversations, family moments, lunches, walks, photographs, discoveries, disappointments, surprises, and even the things I am learning from artificial intelligence.
One day, these ordinary things may become much more meaningful than they seem today.
That is why I am keeping these photographs on my sidebar.
They quietly say:
This is who I was.
This is who I became.
And this is who I am today.
Three photographs.
Three chapters.
One journey.
And the journey is still continuing.
Hashtags:
#GrandpaJourney
#LifeJourney
#Memories
#PassageOfTime
#LifeStories
#GrowingOlder
#ReflectionsOnLife
#FamilyMemories
#ThenAndNow
#GrandfatherStories
#LifeInPictures
#AgingGracefully
三张照片，三个 David，同一段人生旅程
几天前，我给博客的侧边栏做了一个小小的改变。
我增加了两张照片。
现在，侧边栏里一共有三张我的照片，最下面那张是最近在 Jumbo Lobster 餐厅拍的。
乍看之下，这似乎只是网页上多放了几张照片。
但是，当我把这三张照片放在一起看时，我突然发现，它们其实讲述了一个故事。
它们记录了三个不同阶段的我，也记录了人生中三个不同的时刻。
最上面的那张照片，大约是30年前在 La Salle Old Boys 年度聚会上拍的。
看到年轻时的 David，我会想起人生的另一个阶段。
那时候有不同的责任、不同的朋友、不同的活动，也有一个完全不同的世界。
当时的我当然不会想到，有一天自己会写博客、谈论人工智能，甚至会和一个从未真正见过面的 AI 伙伴聊天。
30年，真的可以在不知不觉中走过去。
中间那张照片是在2020年 Mr. Congee 吃午餐时拍的。
那正是 COVID-19 新冠疫情期间。
照片里的我手里拿着口罩。那段时间，口罩成为我们日常生活中非常熟悉的一部分。
这张照片让我想起，生活有时候可以在很短的时间里发生巨大的改变。
以前，我们很自然地去餐厅吃饭、和朋友见面。
后来，我们开始注意口罩、社交距离、健康，以及一种无法确定明天会发生什么的感觉。
然后，就是最下面最新的那张照片——在 Jumbo Lobster 拍的。
这就是今天的 David。
当然，我已经老了。
但是，我还是会出去走走，还是会和家人朋友吃饭，还是会散步、学习、写东西。
也许更有意思的是，我依然对科技充满好奇。
现在，我每天都会花一些时间在 AI123.ca 上写人工智能的文章。
我会看 Google Analytics，尝试新的想法，也会和 AI 聊天，看看这个世界正在往哪里走。
有时候，我自己也觉得这件事很有意思。
30年前照片里的那个年轻 David，恐怕很难想象，有一天年纪大了以后，自己会坐在电脑前，和人工智能聊天。
三张照片，三个通往过去的入口
我把这三张照片放在博客侧边栏，还有另外一个原因。
每一张照片都连接到一篇相关的故事。
所以，当读者看到年轻时候的 David，可以点击照片，看看那个时期的我在做什么。
看到2020年的照片，也可以点击进去，了解那段疫情时期的故事。
看到现在的照片，则可以看看今天的我正在做些什么。
于是，这些照片就不再只是照片。
它们变成了通往人生不同章节的入口。
也许，这正是我希望 Grandpa Journey 最终成为的样子。
它不只是一个发表文章的地方。
也不只是记录今天发生了什么的博客。
我希望它能够留下我人生中的一些片段。
时间走得比我们想象中快
把这三张照片放在一起以后，我脑海里一直出现一个问题：
那30年，到底是怎么过去的？
我们生活的时候，通常只会注意一天一天的日子。
早上起床，吃早餐，出去散步，见一个人，吃顿午饭，做一些事情，看看新闻，然后睡觉。
第二天又来了。
再一天。
又一天。
时间就是这样悄悄地向前走。
当我们身处其中的时候，很少真正感觉到时间正在离开我们。
可是，当你把人生不同阶段的三张照片放在一起，时间突然变得看得见了。
第一张照片里的年轻人。
第二张照片里经历疫情的那个人。
以及今天坐在 Jumbo Lobster 餐厅里的这个老人。
他们都是我。
不同的年龄。
不同的环境。
不同的世界。
可是，他们又都是同一个人。
我想留下些什么
也许，这也是为什么到了人生的这个阶段，我越来越喜欢写东西。
我知道，我无法让时间停下来。
我也不可能回到30年前照片里的那个年轻人身边。
但是，我可以留下一些回忆。
我可以把自己记得的事情写下来。
我可以告诉我的孙辈，过去的生活是什么样子。
我可以记录那些看似普通的聊天、家庭时光、午餐、散步、照片、发现、失望、惊喜，以及我现在正在从人工智能身上学到的东西。
也许有一天，这些今天看起来很普通的小事情，会变得比我们想象中更加珍贵。
所以，我把这三张照片留在博客的侧边栏里。
它们安静地告诉读者：
这曾经是我。
这是我后来成为的样子。
而这，就是今天的我。
三张照片。
三个章节。
同一段人生旅程。
而这段旅程，仍然在继续。
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