Pondering passages.

• Author: Rundles, Jeff
• Position: RUNDLES wrap up

WHEN IT COMES TO THINGS TO PONDER--and I am an inveterate ponderer--the passing of eras interests me greatly, probably because I have lived long enough to see many of them pass. I've seen a few of them come along, too, and then pass. For instance, my office in the early 1980s was one of the first in Denver to get a fax machine, and we went to great lengths to seek out the other two or three possessors of this blazing technology; we mostly sent each other jokes and quotes just to see how the machines worked. Then for about 15 to 18 years we had to get a newer, faster, plain-paper fax machine every year to keep up with the demand. I recently saw one of these marvels on a shelf in my basement, right next to a classic Underwood manual typewriter I once used to bang out articles, both covered with several layers of what struck me as sad dust.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

The pondering came this time when I saw a recent newspaper article (talk about the passing of an era!) about the pending liquidation and closing of Wolf Camera stores, seven in Colorado among some 137 nationwide owned by Ritz Camera & Image. Eleven years ago there were 23 Wolf Camera locations in Denver and Colorado Springs, a then-impressive chain that came about with the 1998 purchase of Waxman Camera and Video, and then the subsequent sale, in 2001, to Ritz. Ritz was once the largest camera store chain in the country, and now it--and its nearly 2,000 employees--will soon be gone. I was going to say "gone and forgotten," but apparently the "forgotten" part came first.

It's no surprise, really. First, of course, hardly anyone buys or uses a. camera anymore--digital or film--because everyone now takes and shares highres photos instantly with, of all things, their tell phones. Just this week I have looked at wonderful photographs of grandchildren, vacations, new cars, and a whole host of things on my friends' smart phones. In one instance some friends of mine shared their Italy photos via phone and email for a vacation they are still on. Not too long ago it would have been at least a week after they returned, took the film to the lab, and then we'd have to get together to take a look.

You could see the struggle going on at Wolf for some time, and it looked...