They grow up
Fast! Did we?… get old too? Older? Things change fast. So fast. Stop! I want to savor the moment. Too late! It’s bittersweet. The kids are hurtling onward to their future. And we… I daresay there are moments to treasure. It has changed so much so fast.
No cake for you
Birthday. It’s Jules belated (one day) birthday. Birthday cake! I made carrot cake. The bastards! The icing in a can only covers about half the cake. Why?!! So, we bought two (cans). Noa asked for cake all day long as soon as I brought it thru the door. Now! Dinner, dessert, birthday cake, the moment was upon us. Candles! Light the candles, blow them out, eat cake! Nope! Not happening! Sad, not really, Noa was told to eat/finish her dinner first. No tantrum. She ate dinner and then had cake. … all gone! What good discipline. Ya gotta admire modern parenting!
You got some?
Memories. We all have some. Some are more faulty than others. Some are more rosy as they fade. Jog?
At one point I carried a camera and a video to record events. I found that I never watched the videos. So, I returned to photographs pretty much exclusively. Even now, my spiffy mirrorless camera or iPhone makes video easy, I still prefer photos.
Wistfully, I recall. I see my kids and their antics, activities, accomplishments, and our times together. You can’t go back. I find these slides as little treasures. I am glad they are preserved. It is the legacy my kids will receive one day.
Remember
Sometimes, many times, I am humbled by my lack of photographic skill and how it has grown as I grew older. Ego?! I was born perfect. I lived in a bubble. Not, nope, nada. But, in the looking back, I am amazed at my ego and ignorance. I did get a good camera early on. It would be a long long time before I overcame mistakes to be a better photographer. I believe volume (many photos later) has saved me. if you take enough pictures, there is bound to be one among the clutter that is serviceable. This follows the theory – eventually, even a blind squirrel gets a nut. Thankfully, there are bad images in my collection. Some people do not have a collection to cull. This is remembrance and happy birthday. At least there are choices that I have. When your birthday falls so close to Christmas, it is so unfortunate. You have nothing to look forward to, for the rest of the year. Furthermore, you get one present to cover both events. Cheated! John was born on December 19.
Remembering
This was the occasion of Lisa’s 30th birthday. Yesterday was John’s birthday. Each year I cast about for a picture of John appropriate for the day’s post. Decades have passed. I should be thankful I’m still here to remember so many who are not. It’s another bittersweet birthday to remember you. Poor John, it always seemed that Xmas and your birthday fell so close together that there was nothing else to look forward for the rest of the year.
Dearly beloved
OMG. I post way in advance – months. I just realized no HB – yet. Well, I just saved the marriage. Just. Barely. But Colleen will never know how close. Shhhh…
I’ve told this story before. We met in the 3rd grade. Yup, that would be many decades ago. But, we never connected again until recently. I regret the time that passed though we did have full lives, apart, that included kids and grandkids. One email, it was instant – crazy glue. Happy Birthday, my dearest wife. You will never know how close I came, to yet, one more faux pas. The operative word is “HAPPY.” A birthday is once a year. Happy is forever.
HB
This one goes back to when Jules was a newborn. A lot has happened in the decades. Happy Birthday Eric. As the years pass, old photos (slides) become more precious. Change? No mustache and a pony tail – Eric, not Jules.
Happy
Birthday! To say that we are happy… well, yeah! Can you tell? The past years have been pretty special. I hope your birthday is as happy as I can make it. Who could have guessed that from when we met in the third grade, you would so profoundly affect my life. May all the wishes on your birthday cake candles come true.
Birthday
Fortunately, my file system was more antiquated and I actually labeled my images with names. Eric? I got a bunch. He’s much older now. Jules was an infant. Now, she has an infant, Noa. A lot has changed. And we are old. Happy birthday.
All in a day
It’s not flattering (to me). It is a snap arranged and taken by Colleen. She calls me the Pied Piper. I sit and the cats gather. We have one, two, three here. She says these are my cats…as opposed to hers. Cats have preferences too. I would deny it. But, there are favorites. All are given the love they demand. Some demand more than others.
On the day you were born
Noa Lila was born on the 20th of January. I nearly forgot to photograph the news headline the day she was born. In Delaware the NY Times is delivered a few days late. In this case my local library had a newspaper from January 14. No good. On January 24 in the library in New Castle, I caught up to recent headlines on January 20. Newspaper? I read the internet NY Times and it is updated multiple times a day. Who reads a paper? It’s so old and out of date. Hence, the newspaper shows up at the library days later. Old news, historical interest. It is/was the news on the day you were born. It wasn’t as cool as the super blood wolf moon that night.
Birthday time
One birthday this year. Growing up Jules had three/year. She had an end of school party, a summer party, and one on her actual birthday with family. No more. I tell her once per year. She’s younger that way. She was born in the wee hours. It always seems to be that way. We didn’t know she would be a girl. After declaring her identity, I added she had ten toes, “Eight on one foot, two on the other.” Her mother was not pleased. Humor is about timing. Sometimes mine was off. …like about thirty years.
Oooo! I got more space to fill. I saw the ultrasound pic of Jules’ new baby. It’s neat. We did not do one for her (Jules). Lisa worried about long term damage from sound waves. As far as I can tell there have been no effects. Now that there’s a new one on the way, we’ve begun to collect all manner of baby things. It’s simply amazing how one small 6lb package can take up so much space once it lands. And I recall though the clothes are small, they go through about ten wardrobe changes per day. Ha ha, that’s all the space left…
Memories
I have a bright memory of the day – May 27, 1960. It was the last day of school, third grade. We had just moved the past year and I attended Elkins First Ward. Miss Ray was my teacher. She drove a bright red Valiant. I had just met Colleen. The day? It was Eric’s birthday. He’d been born in the overnight hours at Davis Memorial hospital. My father had left us (John and myself) sleep. He’d taken my mother to the hospital and returned in time to get me to school. John was still pre-school. We’d been left alone overnight. I never gave it a thought (you can’t just leave kids these days). Meanwhile, it’s Eric’s birthday again. I won’t be with him this year. I got a shot this morning using a macro lens I dug out of the closet. It was a mission/quest. And it was another excuse to post a random flower pic taken today. I’ve got a full-blown garden going. And the other slide is from years back with Eric holding his favorite nephew, Steven. It’s not fair to the other kids, but there was a special affinity. Otherwise, we must be PC and say he loved everyone “equal.” But there was chemistry between them. Happy birthday.
Presents
I am notoriously difficult to shop for. After all I have largely gone and gotten whatever I needed. I don’t lust – much – for things, silly. I don’t ask for and I protest when someone wants to get me a present. So I’m pretty ok without any Xmas or birthday gifts anymore. Really! So?! This was the sole present of my recent HB. White chocolate! Mmmmm, no, I’m not much of a white chocolate fan. Go for the sin if you are going to do it. Get dark chocolate! Nonetheless, it occurs to me now that it was the one and only. Thank you. Worse, I took a picture of it. Yeah, I shoot everything.
HB
Seven years ago. Hmmm….Shutterfly knows how to press my buttons. This was an uploaded series (in Shutterfly) from my birthday. How do you surprise me? It ain’t easy. Some people give. Some receive. I’m the former. It’s pretty hard to do something for someone who’s done about everything and has about all he could think of. I’m not being smug. It’s just that I have been a headache in the gift department for a lot of people for many years. Jules and her mother decided to give me a World Cruise dinner birthday as a surprise. Don’t ask. I don’t remember all the details except that it was a cold foggy almost rainy day/evening. They got me on the boat dressed semi-casual/formal – at least no tie, but shoes and socks. It’s a dinner cruise while the boat goes around lower Manhattan. Jules was sorely seasick. Oh my! She sat on deck in the freezing drizzle while we ate. No dancing. Was that her plan? Nope. She was pretty green up top – and pretty frozen too. She perked up as soon we disembarked. Anyway, she’s just like her dad; we both have a history of motion sickness. Fortunately, what I remember, it was a good meal. At least something memorable happened in 2010.
Happy Birthday
Another year older. Last I checked Jules had a goal to visit 30 countries by 30 years old. And for a number of years we were in the Tyler Place on her birthday. She made out like a bandit. She had a party before school ended, another with the family, and the third in Vermont. Now, married. It still seems odd to me. She and Dave have had ups and downs. But they get better with time. I know that when I am with them it’s a lot of fun. But then, that is less and less. It’s nice to have some pics of them together. Funny. In all pics everyone is happy and it’s never raining. It makes you think that life is about sunny days. Well, if you recall, the wedding day it rains sideways. There was a drought in California. Sunny the day before and the day after the wedding, I don’t think anyone cared that it rained. But a lot of very nice shoes got all muddy.
HB – Happy Happy
Happy Birthday. I just remember the day. Eric was born on the last day of third grade for me. That would be Elkins First Ward School. Lot of memories there. I awoke and mom had delivered overnight. Dad was getting us breakfast. John and me. He had left us alone overnight. We slept and never knew it. I barely remember when John was born. All I remember is that they kept acting like I might be jealous of someone new in the house. He did not affect me in the least. We were expecting a girl (Eric). Hoping for a girl. I don’t know why. It seems ok by me that I got another brother. His name is closer to the front of the alphabet. And he got a middle name.
Me? My mother used a baby name book. She bailed at V. WXYZ not too much further to go. And no middle name. “T” it was on my birth certificate. No, I did not know till I was sixteen. My first summer job as a waiter in a camp and when they returned our birth certificates someone pointed it out. “Oh, well, I didn’t have a first name for you. So I just saved a spot.” Great story. And each brother got a letter closer to the front of the alphabet.
My mother was one of seven children. The last three were sisters. The youngest sister my dear Auntie Fu Ching told me after my mother had passed away, “Your mother lied on your birth certificate.” Huh? The older sister Emily told her she was too old to have a baby (me). So she told my mother, “Lie about your age.” Great! I have looked and I know that I am not a girl.
You’d be surprised but a lot of Chinese guys have my name. I can’t get my name alone as an identifier for email or username. The most fun I had was entering Hong Kong after I visited China. I was separated from my group and placed in a room with a very nice man with a rifle. It was clear he was guarding me. I, of course, did not have a guilty conscience. But I cooled my heels for a while. And when released (I was released with a smile) my friend informed me that the customs folks thought they had just caught one of the big drug smugglers with my same name. Geez!
Confession
I am the worst at remembering birthdays. Carol, Susan, Amy, you know who you are. Every year on my birthday I receive a greeting. It’s nice. And when the time comes I am clueless as to when your birthday might be. Yes, I could ask once again and write it down on one of any devices that are designed to keep me in touch. So to all you ladies, I apologize. Belated or not, I am just remiss and will ever be. So happy birthday to all of you. You know who you are! I remember Ginny and Colleen for some reason. And yes the kids – my kids.
Windows On The World
I’ve been to the restaurant on top of the World Trade Center. Restaurants being what they are it was not too difficult to get a reservation as long as it was done in advance. I need not mention it no longer exists. This occasion was for my thirtieth birthday and Lisa sprang the surprise. 
I don’t have a shot of the view. It is of course why you go there. What’s in my archive are several pictures of how we looked a lot of years ago. No I wouldn’t embarrass Lisa with mention of age. Suffice it to say that these pictures were at the same age as my kids are now. 
Which is to say that Bill and Lila in this picture are around my age now. Focus on them was a camera technical issue and there were no duplicates. 
John and Eric, well, we were all pretty young.
I was there at the restaurant on a couple other occasions once for a significant birthday for my neurosurgery chairman Joe Ransahoff. Of course there’s no going back. The restaurant was lost forever on 9/11. My kids never ate here. But they did once come to the top when the Frary’s visited.
photobackstory 