Saturday 21 August 2010

"Bits and Pieces" ...




From left to right ; from the top to the bottom row - Francisco Balacó;  Antonio Medo; Álvaro Gonçalves, Policarpo Alves; Carlos Bastos; Manuel Santos; Manuela Rocha; Luis Brito; Manuel Marreiros ; Olinda; José Veiga; Ana Coimbra; Nelson Barreto; José Moreno; Maria Louro; Diamantino; António Magalhães; Pedro Moreira; Henrique Silva; Ana Mafalda; Domingos; Azevedo Júnior; Leonor Bandeiras; Rui Miranda; Carlos Rodrigues; Feliz Ramos ; Reis; Luisa Vieira; Eusébio Flores; Cristina Nogueira; Hélio Santos; Helena Santos; Campos; Graça Couto; Rui Pignateli and myself)


Coming across this Christmas card, gently handed to everyone who worked at ANA Training Centre in 1988 by its Head Director, made me go back in time ...  and inevitably think about the inumerous changes ... the ones, which have affected many of us and those which still affect some of us and go beyond the historical event  of having had ANA split into two enterprises ...

Many of us don't physically look the same ..., though I believe most of us look better ...
Some of us "are" ANA and some of us "are" NAV, with two "being" INAC ...
Three of us are no longer alive ... and some of us are "dormant" ... trying to "survive" ...
Some of us have retired ... and one of us left the enterprise not long after this photo was taken ...
Few of us are about to retire ... but  the rest of us have still a long way to go ...
The outside building still looks the same ... but many changes have "taken over" the inside ...

I  can't help thinking of the poem "Bits and pieces", whose author I don't recall ...

"[...] You think on the many who have moved into your hazy memory. You look on those present and wonder"... and yet "You find you are made up to bits and pieces of all who ever touched your life and you are more because of it ... and would be less if they had not touched you".







No comments:

Post a Comment