Corel
My Dad passed away at Christmas time last year, so today is a bittersweet celebration for my family. But if this season teaches us anything, it is that from grief can come joy and from despair, hope. While going through Dad’s things, we came across an old cardboard shoebox stuffed into a corner of his closet behind a pile of dress shirts Dad hadn’t worn since his retirement years ago. The box was dusty with age, pieces of a long-decimated rubber band still clinging to it in bits. It didn’t look like much but inside was a treasure beyond imagining.
Lined up like soldiers on parade, a tightly-packed row of yellowing envelopes filled the box. Each envelop held a letter written in my father’s slanted scrawl, the words marching across pages filled with the hopes and dreams and fears of a young man barely 20. Painstakingly saved by my grandmother more than half a century ago, the box held every letter Dad wrote to his family during World War II. Dad never spoke about the years he served in the Pacific, and we have just a few old black and white photos from that time: Dad and a couple of buddies smiling into the camera. Dad standing stiffly at attention, rifle over his shoulder with a glimpse of jungle in the background. Dad’s letters to his parents provide a rare glimpse into the vulnerable soul of the steadfast man we loved and depended on.
The discovery sparked a family project that will ensure that Dad’s legacy — and soon Mom’s — will not be lost but will be there to guide future generations. Using Corel software products, we scanned Dad’s letters and photos into a digital scrapbook to be printed and presented this Christmas to his children, grandchildren and first great-grandchild. Corel’s easy-to-use page layout and photo editing software have made the project an easy one. And the superior quality achievable with Corel products has allowed us to create a family heirloom to be passed down through the generations. We’re so pleased with the results that we plan to chronicle and preserve a slice of family history every year.
If you’d like to create your own family heritage scrapbook, you’ll find great deals on Corel products at Coupon Cactus. A special 30% Corel Coupon is available until January 5, 2009; but you’ll also find on-going Corel coupons offering 10% and 15% off any order. Coupon Cactus members earn an additional 6% cash back when they order Corel products through Coupon Cactus.
Tags: Corel