Imagynasium

My photoblog started in 2014, it reached to an anniversary post … it’s about post “File 500” … with this occasion, I would like to thank those who follow this photoblog. As in the past four anniversary posts, I will tell you a true (photo)story, which I think is remarkable and interesting;
On April 14, 2016 (Oh My God, how time passes!?), I was with business in the center of Bucharest, right next to the Intercontinental Hotel … walking on the street, I saw a scene in which it seemed, that the past had broken a window into the future and bringing in my way, the functional version of a beautiful vintage car;

It was a Graham Paige 610 model, built in Detroit, in 1928 … Of course, in Bucharest, a city with more than 3000000 inhabitants (as in any other big city), have the opportunity to see many remarkable things and get used to it, but to see a original car from “another world”, with wooden wheels, parked next to the latest generation cars, with hundreds of horsepower engines, is a unique opportunity and attracts the attention of anyone … for me, as a vintage lover, it was a magical moment and I did a long photo session, of which I present some examples;

But the real story began after I got home and found out about this magic car;
On January 23, 2000, a young family from Argentina, Herman Zapp (31) and his wife Candelaria Zapp (29), gave up their quiet lives and started from Republic Square, Buenos Aires, in a nomad lifetime, around the world … when they left, they had only £ 3000, a Graham Paige car, model 1928 and no other resource or connection for the future … under these conditions, it was a miracle if they could reach the Argentine border!
What the Zapp’s finaly managed to do, is a fabulous contemporary story, in which reality goes beyond of imagination … the story that I’ve been following since 2016, is too complex to present here, but you can find it on the internet “Zapp Family Around The World” … I’ll just tell you the end of story;
On March 13, 2022, the Zapp family returned to their home, near Gaualeguaychu, Entre Rios province, after an epic journey at lasted 22 years … During this time, they traveled 362,000 kilometers, in 102 countries, on 5 continents, with the same car Graham Paige 610, model 1928, which I photographed in Bucharest on 14-04-2016 … what has happened in 22 years, only these modern heroes know, who have managed to turn such a great dream into reality!
They recently returned with four children, who were born and raised during the trip, a puppy, a cat and Graham Paige car, made in 1928, who amazingly survived and was “the home” where their dreams and their children grew up, in last 22 years. This is a proof that beyond love, humanity and passion, people do not need a lot of things, to be happy;

The sad part of this story is that the Zapp family’s adventure did not end, because their spirit of adventure was exhausted, but because since 2020, the world has changed and it is no longer a “common home”, where free citizens can travel in peace, in the spirit of a multicultural experience … their journey has come to end, because in today’s world, “walls” are rising again and a new “Iron Curtain” will divide us, probably for next few decades. The wings of the Zapp family were broke between these “walls”, raised in the last two years.
For me, the memory of the Zapp family journey, who were able to fulfill their fabulous dream, with the help of over 2000 volunteer hosts, from 5 continents (with different traditions, religions, cultures and level of civilisation), remains the hope, that beyond the interests of those who lead us temporarily, we, simple people (no matter which part of the new “Iron Curtain” we are), we will be able to heal the social wounds of today and we will be able to leave as legacy for our children, a world of peace!

ONE WORLD … ONE FAMILY … WE ALL ARE! (I want to believe that someday in the future, this can be true, as the Zapp family has shown in their fabulous adventure)