Thanksgiving evening 12 years ago, my wife and I learned a tough lesson about the importance of protecting our family treasures. Upon returning to our house after a wonderful Thanksgiving gathering, we pulled into the drive and were stunned to see signs of fire. Inside, the house was dark and the light switch didn't work; we smelled smoke and heard dripping water. I retrieved a flashlight from the car, and we walked through what was left of our house. Everything that had been on the third floor was now in an ash pile in the front flowerbed, and all the rest of our possessions were melted, smoke-damaged or water-soaked.

We've since replaced our lost belongings — except for our family photos and original documents. Those are gone forever. If today's technology had been available then, we could have preserved and stored them safely for future generations.