Friday Photo Flashback

Well, the Christmas season is officially underway. I can assure you that I have NO plans to go out shopping today. I’m just built for stress like that. Anyway, since it is official, I thought I would search for a Christmas themed photo to feature.

A while back, my brother put all of the digital Christmas photos in a folder marked “Christmas Through the Years.” One of the first photos to pop up was this one;

It is pretty much all of the girls in the family. From left to right on top: Mom, Grandma, Aunt Linda. Bottom left to right: Arin, Aunt Jodi, Melissa. It is one of the few pictures with all the gals from my mom’s side in one photo.

The photo is taken at my Aunt Linda’s house. This was probably around 1981, just after my grandpa passed away. We usually had Christmas at my grandma’s. Occasionally, it would be at my Aunt Linda’s or our house. When it was at my aunt’s house, my uncle’s parents would often be there. They were Italian, and I just loved talking to his mom about Italy and Italian food.

My Aunt Linda gave me my first Bible as a Christmas gift one year. I wish I’d took it a bit more seriously then. She wrote something on the inside cover that has always stuck with me and makes more sense now than it ever did. She said, “Remember that this book has ALL the answers.”

My brother and I don’t see my cousins enough. I’m going to have to ask him to let me know when he comes up next time well in advance. We are over due to be together.

Friday Photo Flashback

Last week, I posted a picture of me in my grandma’s backyard playing catch with my dad. The more I thought about my grandma’s backyard, I was reminded of her back patio.

I distinctly remember there being a picnic table out there. I know my brother and I would eat outside with my grandma on summer days that we were there. The other thing I remember very well was the patio furniture.

My grandma and grandpa had this big, honking glider that was made out of metal. It was a puke green color and had little squares cut in it as a pattern both on the back of the glider and on the seat. If I had to guess, the glider probably weighed about, oh, 700 pounds or something. It was huge.

The patio set came with a rocker that had the same green and square pattern on it. There may or may not have been a chair that was just stationary that had the same style.

The picture above is me on the rocker. I’m guessing that any child of the ’70s will recognize that chair and probably be able to picture the glider. The one thing that I remember very well is that in the summertime if the sun hit that glider or chair for any length of time you could probably fry an egg on it. It was hot!

I’m guessing that the picture above was probably taken in the spring or in the fall as I’m wearing long pants. I have no recollection whatsoever of the gaudy shirt that I am wearing. I mean, what is that?! It looks like I’m about to join Roy Rogers and his band for a TV special. All that is missing is a pair of boots with spurs and a 10 gallon hat.

I honestly don’t know what my parents were thinking when they dressed me. You know I’ve raised two boys and am currently raising my daughter and my son. There has been no time at all where I have thought to myself “let’s dress them so they look absolutely ridiculous.”

No wonder people made fun of me in elementary school!

Friday Photo Flashback

It’s the first day of summer, but “the boys of summer” have been playing for sometime. As a long time Detroit Tigers fan, I have to admit that I am enjoying their season so far. They’ve really had some players come through. Both offensively and defensively they have done quite well.

In all of baseball, both American and National Leagues, they remain the best team.

The Cubs are sitting at .608 (45-29) followed by the Dodgers at .605 (46-30). I am excited for the rest of the season.

I say all of that as an intro into my Friday Photo Flashback. I truly do not know how old I am in the photo. If I had to guess I would say maybe three-ish.

I am not sure if the yellow tint to this photo is because of age or just the way the camera film was developed. I spent a long time looking at this picture. It cannot be the back yard of the first house we lived in because there would have been a field behind me if it was. So, I think that this was taken in my Grandma D’s back yard. The reason I say that is because of the privacy fence along the back of the yard.

There was a cemetery directly behind my grandma’s house. There was a gate where you could actually walk out into it, if desired. It always freaked me out a bit. I also remember her having rose bushes and other plants against the fence that is behind me in the picture. At some point, the owners of that house put up a privacy fence there. I remember that because I recall it being there when I would cut her grass.

I have no idea whose baseball mitt that is. It could be my dad’s because he played softball with some guys he worked with and there is a softball in it. It might also be his because he is sitting on the grass in front of me. I remember him wearing many of those “fishing” hats. I’m sure they have a name, but I always called them fishing hats. Eventually, I would have my own collection of them that I would wear.

That boy in the photo would dream about being a baseball pitcher. I would spend hours throwing the ball to my friends and my dad, who would call the balls and strikes. Even though the dream never came true, I still love a good game of catch. Sadly, my shoulder won’t allow me to throw like I used to.

Rest assured, though, if my kids were to ask me to toss the ball around, I’d have my mitt on in a heartbeat.

Friday Photo Flashback

I know Christmas is over, but my neighbor still has his lights out, so here is a Christmas photo for this week’s Friday Photo Flashback. Christmas 1980.

What you have here is 10 year old Keith. (Good Lord, it’s Christmas! You’d have thought I would brush my hair!) I am holding the cribbage board that my Grandpa and Grandma D gave me. This would have been Grandpa’s last Christmas.

I don’t recall exactly when he started to teach me how to play cribbage. Maybe I was 8 or 9. I know I was easy to beat, as I often forgot to count things. My grandpa taught me how to play on his board. The board was old and I think he had it around the time of World War II. When he passed away, my grandma said he would have wanted me to have it. (I still do!)

If you beat him on his board, he let you sign the back of it. If memory serves me right, there are three signatures on it. One of his buddies, my dad, and me. I had bought a small board to play on and we played on it a couple times. If my grandpa “skunked” me, he got to sign the back of my board. The two games we played on my board – he won both times!

He used to call me Charlie. “Skunked Charlie on this board (date) H.D. And we know who Charlie is don’t we” is his first signing. The first allowed him to write a shorter bit next. “Did it again 12-31-80 – on New Year’s Eve!

I still have the “29” cribbage board. There are a couple signatures on the back from friends who have skunked me on my board, too.

At one point, I taught my second son, Dimitri, how to play, but he hasn’t been over for a while. I guess I will just have to teach Ella or Andrew how to play …