Another photo of me and my dad that I found in the 25 year old crumpled paper lunch bag. Although I don’t remember this photo being taken, I do remember living here as well as some snippets of childhood for which this small house on Telegraph Road was the setting.
On a summer day, it’s me, age five, hamming it up while sitting on my dad’s lap in the front yard of our house that we rented from his Aunt Hazel. I don’t remember the occasion, but it looks like a gathering of my parents’ square dancing friends…maybe a game of poker is going on up there on the front porch. I don’t know why I’m pointing at my dad’s nose…just part of the mugging process and me being me, I guess. What I do know is that my mother made that polka dot sun suit and she made it out of a feed sack. (I wore a-la-feed-sack fashions well into my elementary school years.) I was okay with the skimpy homemade outfits until the following summer when I was suddenly stricken with modesty and refused to wear them altogether. And my flair doesn’t end there. I’m also donning my mother’s signature haircut for me…short. choppy. bangs. These days I cut my own hair and have a tendency toward short. choppy. bangs.
I see my dad’s wedding ring there that is now weighty, yet gently so, on my finger, kept secure by my own wedding band. My mother gave it to me after my father’s passing, and I slipped it on for the meantime so I wouldn’t lose it. I’ve yet to take it off. I’m glad that she gave me his original plain band and not the other one. At one point she bought a second set of wedding bands, ones with beaded edges. I asked her the reason for the new set of rings—had the originals been lost or were vows renewed—no, she said, she just wanted new ones. Odd, I think, to “replace” something like that.
And it was in this house where this photo was taken.
Grace
T
8noodles
justin
YogaforCynics
What a wonderful picture and a wonderful post! Love these black and white photos.
Thank you, Bossy Betty. I go through my old photos often, but I somehow missed this one. I love the b&w’s, too!
Love those big ol wrap-around porches and I can see how much fun you and your dad were having. Very sweet!
Svasti´s last blog post ..Hanging out in Clear Deep Heart/Mind…
Hi Svasti. Unfortunately, this wasn’t one of those wrap-arounds (although it looks like it could be) but I know what you mean. This house was actually very small, but it had a nice-sized porch, nonetheless. I think it was around this time that I used to tell my dad that I wanted to marry him when I grew up…which is normal, right? :o|
Twitter: craftybird
I LOVE this photo! Looks like your home was full of such warmth and fun, and what a little cutie you are!
Bird´s last blog post ..Birthday Girl
Thank you, Bird. I think these were good times for all of us. I wasn’t the kind of kid who sensed all that was going on, so… I could use some of that cuteness now! :o)
My your parents were so good looking! I too prefer b/w photos especially when they are portraits – don’t know why faces appeal more to me in that format.
Grace´s last blog post ..Ennui is me
Thanks, Grace. I think they were pretty good looking, too. And I’m wonderin’ how come I didn’t get that gene??? I really didn’t! I love b&w…just a whole different feel.
Twitter: niceartlife
Nice photo and nice memory I can imagine. Very nice to see the harmony in the family.
NiceArtLife´s last blog post ..The Hanging Temple Xuan Kong Si – Datong (China)
Thanks, NiceArtLife. I’m glad you liked it. Yeah, it seems there was harmony there, however I wasn’t the most astute child, so who knows…
What a great trip memory lane, Weren’t you just the cutest little thing :)
ann´s last blog post ..Something from the oven
Ha! Thank you, ann, for the compliment. Cute and little are definitely adjectives from my past,..another part of memory lane!
Clothes made outta feed sacks!
You’re just walking Americana, aren’t you?
Somehow the crease just adds to the picture’s charm…
YogaforCynics´s last blog post ..Yogi Don’t Surf! (El Yogi Cynico en Costa Rica Parte Cinco)
Ha! My mother, grandmother and great grandmother are/were quilters and sewers. And my grandfather was a farmer, so there were always plenty of feed sacks. And i had to wear sumthin’!
That crease is compliments of the crumpled bag and my lack of care. I noticed it, too, and wondered if anyone would mention it…
I love the picture and the backstory.
And I’m glad that you have your father’s original wedding ring. It’s a very solid connection. We have a hat of Kevin’s that my son wears sometimes, and lots of jewelry from my late mother-in-law that he incorporates into his play. Sometimes objects (and photographs) carry a little piece of someone within them.
Jennifer´s last blog post ..Drum-tight heart
Thanks, Jennifer. I wish it coulda been more of a story…I just didn’t remember much more.
I understand what you mean about those objects of lost loved ones. I also have my father’s coffee cup and his house key. And I have one of his heavy denim shirts (he was always cold) that still smells like him. It’s a strange feeling to breathe one’s scent who’s no longer with us…
Telegraph Road? Are you aware that ‘Dire Straits’ (the 1970s and 80s British rock band) had a song/album track entitled ‘Telegraph Road’ on their cd/album entitled ‘Love over Gold’. Just thought that I’d mention that.
Trevor David Betts´s last blog post ..BEACH HUTS
Hi Trevor. And no, I didn’t realize that, but now I must go listen. Thanks! And thanks for stopping by…
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