I was thinking this morning of the power of pictures to capture not just events, but our feelings about those events. Today that could include videos or photos by amateurs in the right place and time, and not just professional photographers.

The ones that come to mind from the past for me are the Vietnamese girl running naked through the streets, the firefighter holding a toddler's lifeless body from the Oklahoma City bombing, Jackie Kennedy in her blood-stained suit standing next to LBJ as he was sworn in, John Jr. saluting his father's casket.

They can be happy photos and memories, too, like Barack and Michelle on stage after the election results in 2008. I was at our city's Dem election headquarters that night, along with other local campaign volunteers. That photo, or videos of that moment, remind me of the teen volunteers with us who ran into the streets to tell passing cars that Obama had won. They were singing "We Are the Champions." A 15 year old standing next to me said, with great relief, "We saved ourselves." Weary of the Bush terms, I said, "I have waited 8 years for this moment." An elderly Black woman said to me, "I have waited a lifetime."

What photos or video moments are imprinted in your mind forever?

I've been thinking about Halloween memories. What was your funniest Halloween experience? What was your scariest one?

My funniest memory:

I grew up with 2 older brothers and a younger sister. The oldest brother was responsible for taking us on our trick or treating rounds. Our religious denomination had no objections to traditional Halloween celebrations, but the pastor of our specific church did. He preached against it in his sermon the Sunday before Halloween when I was around 8 years old.

He lived 5 blocks away from us. So after taking my younger sister home, my brothers said I could go with them for one last stop IF I promised never to talk about it.

We went to the pastor's house and rang the bell. No answer. The drapes were closed and the lights were off but we could hear the TV inside. So my brother mumbled, "OK, you asked for it." He waxed the word "boo" on the porch windows. Meantime, the other brother strung toilet paper on the porch railing, the posts, and the shrubs in front of the house. Then one brother and I hid behind a tree in the park across the street while the other one pushed a thumbtack into the doorbell to make it ring continuously. He ran to join us behind the tree. When the pastor came out to remove the tack, we giggled so much that I was afraid he would hear us.

We kept straight faces the following Sunday in church and no one besides us ever knew.