New old family photos

[urbpan]

I was thinking about my third day of posting what made me happy (the thank you letter to the Chief was my second, by the way) and I had a few contenders after spending the day with my dad yesterday. We had lunch at a place to dispel a bad memory of it (it worked). We went to the nursing home where my mother lives, and Charlie brought joy to many of the residents and visitors there (less so to a lot of the mostly Caribbean staff, who probably have different associations with pit bull type dogs). But these old photos definitely win for what made me the happiest.


For a few summer weekends we went to a family friends' place in Westbrook Connecticut; they operated a concession stand on the beach, and my parents worked behind the counter. Mom here is either doing some bookkeeping or a crossword puzzle. It doesn't look like her cigarette is lit, which is probably a good thing--this is a food place, mom!


My mom is surprisingly nonplussed by the presence of Tom Jones, whistling "What's New Pussycat" as he counts change on the counter. Oh, wait! That's my dad!
There is so much information in this photo, it makes me insanely happy. My dad's t-shirt (and hat! and sideburns!) and then the menu in the background. Three chili dogs for two dollars!!! Below the chili dogs are two kinds of "grinders" a food found only in Connecticut and some other scattered locations. Imagine my surprise when I moved to Massachusetts and found the same food sold under the alias "Subs."


Actually, people usually told my dad that he looked like Joe Cocker. That caused him to go and try to find out who the hell "Joe Cocker" is.


The t-shirt says, "I survived the Blizzard of 1978," placing this set of photos at the following summer.


That was also the year that rabid teenagers emerged from freezers across New England. Oh, no sorry, that's just my brother, who would have been 15 at the time. Hey Andy, what does your t-shirt say?


My father is proud of his newly uncluttered kitchen table. Now to throw out everything else in the room.


Charlie likes it when we visit my dad, but he's always worried I'm going to leave him behind.

Comments

[lizblackdog.livejournal.com]

Your dad is quite plainly made of awesome and always has been.

[octogirlie.livejournal.com]

Agreed.

[squire-jons.livejournal.com]

I was going to say, my only goal in life is to end up being an eccentric, awesome professor like that.

[miz-geek.livejournal.com]

This set is so wonderful.

[anais2.livejournal.com]

I adore your father, and now even more.

[drocera.livejournal.com]

That picture of your dad in the Jaws shirt is awesome! That scene simply could not even be recreated for a movie - it's so perfect.

[heavenscalyx.livejournal.com]

Your dad in the late 70s would've been an awesome history teacher to have (I'm certain he's still an awesome history teacher, but the intensely 70s look of him... *I* certainly didn't have any social studies teachers who looked that cool).

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

Did you find the disc of pictures of mom or did you shoot pictures of pictures with your camera? Great shots either way.

Doc wearing the Jaws shirt is particularly precious. That beach was probably 60 miles as the crow flies from Amityville, where the book is set and the movie was filmed.

My shirt says "I DIG COAL" above a cute cartoon of a anthropomorphized strip mining vehicle. I probably was wearing without irony. Uncle Scotty gave it to me and it was an advertisement for Joy, the company he worked at.

Doc is about the age I am now in those pics. I really need to improve my diet and workout regimen.

I didn't think to take a before picture of that kitchen table, so I can't properly impart to your readers what a task cleaning it off must have been. It was piled to overflowing with papers and mail and there were bags and boxes all around it of even more.

[urbpan.livejournal.com]

I shot the pictures with my camera.

Man that coal shirt would be worth an ironic fortune if it still existed.

I'm trying to figure out--when relative to these pictures did dad have his first heart attack?

[agelena.livejournal.com]

The pictures of your dad also have a Mark Knopfler-esque aura about them.

[brush-rat.livejournal.com]

Maybe a year after these were shot. Disd he have his first heart attack while I was in C.C.Y.?

BTW, that's almost certainly a word search mom is working on. They were the big craze back then.