So I'm looking through our fairly extensive library of family photographs and begin to notice the number of randoms dotted throughout the collection. Randoms of course being innocent bystanders, entirely unconnected strangers who just happened to be in the shot, in the background mostly, unwittingly captured in the crosshairs.
And you would have to wonder if the randoms know the pivotal role they occupy in the compendium of our collective memory. Because some of these are nice shots, ones you go back to again and again; and with each visit there is the random commanding an ever increasing slice of the spotlight.
In particularly wistful moments you might wonder about their name, where they live, how many kids they might have, what line of work they might be in. Think how nice it would be to let them know how important they have become over the years, how they've soldered themselves to your collective identity, become subsumed within the family mythology, how you've warmed to them indeed look forward to their unchanging, reassuring image.
There is a lot you can deduce from the photo but wouldn’t it be great to get an update. I mean, Jesus what are they doing right now, where are they doing it, what if they’re dead? Not so much closure as full disclosure. Spill, who the hell are you?
It’s a dilemma I have recently begun putting my mind to solving and the result is randomsreunited.com. The owner of the shot posts it and visitors have the opportunity to identify themselves thereby ending years of conjecture and speculation.
The site operates on the same principle as lost dog or cat websites. Post the photo with a few details surrounding the circumstances of the shot and wait for the randoms to come to you. Let’s face it these people are already part of the family so why not bring them in from the cold?
Who knows the possibilities once the ice is broken, you might have more in common than you imagine, after all there’s probably a good reason you were only a few feet away from each other for that landmark moment all those years ago. You probably share the same values and outlook on life.
“Seamus I’d like you to meet Gunther. He got caught in the background of a snap we took in the Louvre one summer and has been staring down at us from the mantelpiece for over ten years now till eventually I said to Dympna; feck this I need to know. Turns out he’s even more passionate about preserving the otter’s natural habitat than I am, if that's possible.”
Give it a go, I mean what can possibly go wrong?
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