La versión en español está después de la versión en inglés.
I’m happy to tell youI did not have a great fall. But the foot has been hurting a bit all day today. The idea of taking the elevator down and sitting on a wall across the street seemed like a bad idea. So, I’ve spent this beautiful, warm and sunny day in the house with my foot elevated. I keep forgetting to ice it. I’m supposed to do it five times a day for 10 minutes each time. After 11 minutes, I fell asleep for 45 minutes with the bag of frozen peas on my foot. I wonder if that counts as my five times today.
I’ve been going through my father’s 35mm slides from the 1950s and 1960s. The images were taken with his Kodak Retina camera brought back from Germany after World War II. Today’s photo is of my maternal grandmother with three of her six daughters (there was one son). My mother is first on the left next to my grandmother, My sister Dale is in the middle.
What I never noticed until today is that I’m in the picture, too. Look under the fence. I’m guessing this was taken around 1956. Of the seven children, my mother was 9 years younger than the eldest, my aunt Lilly (not pictured), and 9 years older than the “kid sister” at far right. When my mother was 89 and the kid sister was 80, my mother still called her the kid sister. In this photo, my mother would have been 29, my grandmother 62, and the kid sister 20. I don‘t know where this was taken. Maybe at some family park in the Catskill Mountains. Dale sure was adorable.
And now I’m off to bed until dinner time.
Me alegra poder decirles que no tuve una gran caída. Pero hoy el pie me ha estado doliendo un poco durante todo el día. La idea de bajar en el ascensor y sentarse en una pared al otro lado de la calle parecía una mala idea. Entonces, he pasado este hermoso, cálido y soleado día en casa con el pie elevado. Sigo olvidándome de ponerle hielo. Se supone que debo hacerlo cinco veces al día durante 10 minutos cada vez. Después de 11 minutos, esta tarde me quedé dormido para 45 minutos con la bolsa de guisantes congelados en el pie. Me pregunto si eso cuenta como mis cinco veces hoy.
He estado revisando las diapositivas de 35 mm de mi padre de las décadas de 1950 y 1960. Las imágenes fueron tomadas con su cámara Kodak Retina traída de Alemania después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. La foto de hoy es de mi abuela materna con tres de sus seis hijas (había un hijo). Mi madre está primero a la izquierda al lado de mi abuela, mi hermana Dale está en el medio.
Lo que nunca había notado hasta hoy es que yo también estoy en la foto. Mira debajo de la valla. Supongo que esto fue tomado alrededor de 1956. De los siete hijos, mi madre era 9 años menor que la mayor, mi tía Lilly (no en la foto), y 9 años mayor que la “hermanita” del extremo derecho. Cuando mi madre tenía 89 años y la hermanita tenía 80, mi madre todavía la llamaba hermanita. En esta foto, mi madre tendría 29 años, mi abuela 62, y la hermana menor 20. No sé dónde fue tomada. Quizás en algún parque familiar en las montañas Catskill. Dale seguro era adorable.
Y ahora me voy a la cama hasta la hora de cenar.
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What a wonderful photo to have!
Now look after that foot, mister.
Jim:
I love browsing our old photos. I know you have a treasure trove, too. I’m behaving, or as my niece used to say, I’m being haved. Much better today. But I want to DO things!
Aww – little Mitchell refused to be left out, it seems! Jx
Jon:
I wonder if Little Mitchell thought he was sitting out the photo opportunity.
Old family photos are the best. So much memories.
Laurent:
I love the history they share.
The “kid sister” says it was “probably in one of the parks – Prospect Park?” She couldn’t put a date on it either. She’s getting a little alzheimery for a “kid sister.”
Erik:
Thanks! The Kid Sister is probably right. I’ll bet we were at Prospect Park. Apparently there was a Humpty Dumpty in the zoo. I could tell by how Dale and I look that it would have been 1956. That would have been months before we moved to North Massapequa.
How beautiful your mother and aunts were! And how cute you were. You probably didn’t want to be in the picture on someone’s lap and so you did it your way. That’s what I’m imagining, anyway. And your grandmother looked formidable. But kind, too.
I’m sorry your foot is hurting. Very often, second days are the worst after surgeries.
Ms. Moon
Ms. Moon:
They were a good-looking family. The Kid Sister is still a beauty and stylish. My grandmother always came off as sweet and kind. I think it was because everybody always did exactly what she wanted. At her tallest I think she was 4’10”!
I didn’t notice you in the photo until you brought it to our attention! Aren’t you cute!?! The Humpty Dumpty in the background looks very much like a small stuffed one I have sitting in a bookcase. It was given to my son when he was a baby, but he likes to point out I stole it from him.
Kelly:
You’re preserving and protecting Humpty Dumpty for your son. So kind! I have seen this image probably hundreds of times by now and I don’t think anyone ever noticed me there. I have a feeling I didn’t want to be in the picture and thought I was out of sight.
Actually my original excuse was that I did want to protect it from getting torn up (there are spindly arms and legs that could easily have been ripped off). I should let him have it now. I think he can be trusted with it at 34.
You should check out the book “All the Beauty in the World” by Patrick Bringley. It’s the book on The Metropolitan Museum I mentioned to you once. You might enjoy it.
Kelly:
I just made myself an actual note to remember the book! 34 is awfully young for that sort of responsibility. I think you should protect it for him for at least a few more years.
I missed you too, until you yourself pointed it out. Catskill Mountains, you say? Part of the fabled Borsht Belt. You would have been too young to appreciate it, but in the 1930s, 40s, and ’50s those Catskill resorts were training ground for a several generations of comedians, among them Sid Ceasar, Mel Brooks, Buddy Hackett, Henny Youngman, and Jerry Lewis. Also the setting for the movie Dirty Dancing, but I’m sure you unfortunately would have been too young to appreciate THAT, also.
Kirk:
Well… not too young to appreciate it or experience it. The Catskills were still going strong into the ´60s. But it turns out this photo was probably taken in Prospect Park, Brooklyn — according to Aunt Kid Sister!
I can see the family resemblance between your mother and Chuck. A great image. Take care, enjoy the sunshine on the terrace.
David:
My maternal grandfather told me Chuck, when he was little, looked just like his brother (we never knew him). He DID look an awful lot like my grandfather. I’ll have to pull some comparison photos.
I had an unexpected fall and it did shake me up, it’s the getting older thing …
Love your family photo, looks like my granny on the left xx
finlaygray:
There’s no hope for me, John. I’ve been tripping, falling, and walking into doors (and walls) for as long as I can remember.
Kid Sisters are all the same. They NEVER let you forget that they’re younger than you, especially as we age.
Very wise to stay inside and to keep icing your elevated foot!
Debra:
I used to love reminding SG he was 5 years older than me. When I was 27 and he was 32, he was so old. Now people ask which one of us is older. The jerks! Yeah, I need to stay off my foot. It feels great when I’ve got it elevated. Not so great when I stand or walk too long (which is not long at all).
I’m glad you had the statutory bag of peas on your foot. Other vegetables don’t work right. Also don’t go falling now. Boud
LizBoud:
Frozen peas are flexible!
What a great photo ! Look after your foot…
bodhisattvaintraining:
This foot stuff has already gotten old!
I can imagine x
Oh, how sweet to find you under there! Lovely photo 🙂
That icing timing is tough to follow.
Judy C:
I have my normal prescriptions to take and now all this other stuff (I was going to say crap). Icing 5 times a day is just too much for my limited capacity!
Oh, my goodness! Your grandmother looks a lot like my father’s mom! That’s so weird! Anyhow, take care of that foot, Hopalong. You’ll be back to Scootin’ in no time at all.
Deedles:
I think you’ve mentioned that before about my grandmother. Maybe we’re related. Was your grandmother also under 5-feet tall? Oh how I want to scoot!
I think my grandma was a little shy of five feet. She was a little round white lady with a potty mouth. We never noticed that she was white until Roots came out. She had that little drop of Black blood that made her black (well, Negro back then) by law. Laws can be downright stupid!
Hey, you have the footwear, now you can go *ahem* boot scootin’!
Deedles:
I think my grandmother was 4’10” at her tallest and maybe even 4’4″ by the time she died. SG said he could have sat in a chair and eaten from a bowl of soup on her head. I have no idea why that was the image that came to him. As you can see, she was a little round white lady, too. I don’t think anyone ever heard her swear. Yes, laws (and viewpoints) can be downright stupid. I remember Tiger Woods, with his mixed ancestry, talking about being simply “black” in the US, but when he went to Thailand, he was considered Thai.
Since Mr. Dumpty seems quite whole, I’m assuming you did not get to see all the king’s horses. Or his men.
Walt the Fourth:
I suppose I should be grateful for that… at least for Humpty’s sake.
I’ve scarcely been gone a month and you’re injured again!!!
Knock it off!
Bob:
OK. Now that you’re back (and I’m so happy you are), I promise to have no injuries, surgeries, or illnesses.
Now, don’t make me upset and worried because you aren’t icing your foot when you should. Ask San Geraldo for help if you need it. Dale certainly was adorable. I noticed you hiding right away. It’s the same thing I would have done.
Love,
Janie
janiejunebug:
I’m following all the rules. Icing just annoys me. As for the photo, I have a feeling I thought I was out of sight down there.
I love how you managed to sneak yourself into the picture. You’re such a ham. (To go with the egg.)
Steve:
I have a feeling I thought I was hidden from view.
Definitely a cool vintage photo
Adam:
I don’t know when all my childhood photos became vintage, but it happened!