All I've Got is a Photograph

Father and son, circa 1969

We helped my sister wrap up a quick move today.

Quick as in she moved next door. Still, moving is never quick.

It's a time-honored tradition when people are available. I've helped myriad family and friends move around the Hudson Valley, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and even North Carolina. It doesn't make us special. It's just part of the tale.

Of course, I too have made a few moves, from Mahopac to, um, Mahopac, then on to Carmel, back to Mahopac, and (for now) to Greenwich.

The move here -- hurried as it was -- starred three people: me, my cousin Kris, and Sean.

Anyway, I digress, though my sister and I did recall the insanity of the departure from Mahopac last May. It can never be said enough how we pulled off the closing of our parents house of almost 60 years. We got an email in early May that we had to be out of the house by the closing on May 25th. Somehow, with mostly my sister and I doing the work (with some help from Sean and others), we were able to achieve that.

It was exhausting physically and mentally. I'm proud of us for getting it done but I think we're still both dealing with numerous scars from all of it.

Mental scars.

Again, I'm digressing. We moved the heavy items that Laura needed to be moved, set up her TV, grabbed lunch, and rolled back home. Sean and I agreed it was a good day and we were happy to help.

My back is a little grouchy tonight but it's worth it. I can always use that kind of physical activity.

She had a box full of photos for me that she rounded up in the process of packing. They stretched over most of my life with bountiful memories. In truth, many of them were copies of pictures I already own but that doesn't make the memories less sweet.

I came across lots of gems that stretched from the garish looks of the 70s to the styles of the 2000s.

There were glimpses of baseball games, my senior prom, and my high school graduation as well as birthday parties, holidays, and other slices of life.

Most of the time my smile stretched from a grin into a full guffaw.

Oh, my waistline also stretched and that's one analysis of the pictures I'd prefer to not think about.

But more precious are snaps of my parents, grandparents, cousins, friends, siblings, and nieces. There are also that are no longer in our lives.

The picture at the top of the post features an unsmiling me with my grinning father. I gathered it was taken in late 1969 and I don't appear to be too thrilled with the circumstances.

Three Generations, 1983

Taken in Florida in Feb 1983, I love this shot of me with my father and grandfather. I especially love seeing my father and I with our arms around each other. That was unusual. They'd both be gone just over six years later. We were on our way out to dinner that night and my grandparents met us at our hotel. I was fresh off an afternoon of swimming in the pool behind us, thus my hardly-coiffed hair.

With my grandmother, 1976

I adored my maternal grandmother. She lived in Dutchess County and was more likely to occasionally spend a week with us, sometimes sharing a room with me. She was what I considered the prototype for a grandmother, spoiling us to a point. She often endured my shock over her not caring that she got to visit the original Yankee Stadium and see the greats (Ruth, Gehrig, etc) play yet she couldn't have cared less. My grandfather -- he died long before I was born -- was a baseball fan. As you can tell in the picture, so am I. Incidentally, it's not entirely clear in this Polaroid that I'm also about to blow out the candles on a Fred Flinstone cake.

With Kris, late 70s.

I'm guessing this picture in front of a Christmas tree with Kris was taken sometime in the late 1970s. Even then we were like brothers and it's pretty amazing that we still are. Who knows what made me make that nutty face?

Mom and Sean, 2018

Among the most poignant pictures were a couple of Sean and my mom. Her passing really had a profound impact on him and he was just talking with my sister and me about the event where this picture was taken. This was in North Carolina at my niece's wedding in 2018 and the reason he loves that wedding so much is that he had a great time with Mom. I gave him this picture along with a couple of others, including one just two years later on the day of his graduation from high school. The difference is stark. Time, friends. Hug and love those around you.

In that same regard, I've shared it before, so I won't post it here, but the picture of my dad and me on the day of my graduation from high school is incredibly sad. It was also in this box of photos. He didn't go to my graduation for a few reasons, primarily his own physical health (he suffered intense pain from arthritis). While I'm smiling in my cap and gown, his face shows sadness over the situation. It's tough to look at. Let's keep this post full of happy photos tonight.

We'll finish with this goofy kid in the late 1970s on what is probably Christmas Morning. It's not easy to see, but my pajamas have road signs on them. Yup. Even then.