I have a book of police photographs from car accidents and various other accidents and incidents from the 1940s and 50s. I keep looking at the photos of the people lying dead in their cars or on the ground or in their living rooms.
I keep thinking "look how young they were. They had no idea they were going to die that day."
And the clothes, they look so ridiculous.
I know that probably isn't what most people think when they see these photos. Or maybe it is? I really don't know what other people think. I just keep thinking about all the things these people missed and all the things they never saw. They don't even know we once landed a man on the moon or that the Soviet Union collapsed.
I keep looking at the old cars and how well they held up for the most part. Many of the drivers were actually killed because in the old cars the steering column would often get pushed straight back when the front of the car was smashed, crushing the driver's chest and leaving them pinned in their seats, where they died.
One man, who was drunk, fell out of his car and was run over by it just as it hit a tree. He is still under it, with just his feet sticking out in the photograph.
I keep looking at the old clothes and hairstyles and how funny the people look compared to today. Some of them have their feet up in the air and their shoes have come off in the crash. They are in awkward, strange poses that no one would ever choose to be in if they could.
I even look at the garbage in the floor of their cars and the things that have flown out of their trunks. The bottles and bags and boxes are so old. It's like a scene from a museum, but a very strange museum.
The cops' uniforms and cars and motorcycles are visible in many of the photos. They look so funny. It doesn't feel real, but more like something from a fantasy or movie. And the black and white film makes it even stranger. Did they really dress like that?
I keep looking at the faces of the dead people, with blood all over them and their eyes staring blankly. How strange to see someone who died before I was even born. I know nothing about them, but I know how they died and how they looked when it happened. I even know how they were dressed or what they were driving.
But I don't know anything about who they were.
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