Unexpected Valley Girl Time Capsule

And the Summer that Changed my Life

Scene from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” 1982

I dropped cross-legged on the hardwood floor by my front door and opened a FedEx box I was tracking all day. I was excited to sort through the loose black and white, sepia and faded color family photos, thrown together by my aunt’s attorney after her passing.

A homemade envelope, sealed with fluorescent tape, caught my eye. My return…