1914 ~ Troy, Alabama
Riding in a rented buggy along a country road,
She smiles out at her unknown future,
Crisp in a dress of pale blue linen,
A dark-haired girl with flowers at her waist.
Stiff and correct in Sunday suit,
Her sweetheart wears a somber face
But
His new straw hat
Tilts at a jaunty courting angle.
Governor, the cynical livery hack,
Has seen it all; he poses for posterity;
As an unseen chaperon
Records the fleeting moment.
1973 ~ Tampa, Florida
Still side by side they sit-- their life buttressed by
One daughter, two grandchildren,
Three great-grandchildren --
A stealthy progression of years and generations
Has somehow come to pass.
Stone-deaf in the now,
The old lady hears the voice
Somewhere deep inside,
The dark-haired girl is whispering:
Still here.
'She had the prettiest little ankles,'
The old man says.
7 comments:
WOW, how cool that you have those pictures. *sigh* For some reason my mother saw no need to keep pictures from the past and DESTROYED them ALL as time went by ... can you believe it!?!?! UGH!!! My husbands mother, on the other hand, kept albums of pictures that we now have, and although we're not familiar with a lot of the people in them, it's fun to look through from time to time, especially the old, old ones.
Needless to say, we take tons of pictures and keep them all and love to share with our sons. One Christmas, year back, I made each an album of pictures from day one until. They were so excited to get such a gift and still comment about it. :o)
I'm in the same boat as Pat. Not many pictures. But, I recently bought a book written by a distant cousin in Georgia about my mother's family. It was put together in 1989 and ends with my mother's grandparents. It is a wonderful family tree full of photos and great stories. (Found out many members of my mom's family turned their turpentine stills into moonshine stills during prohibition.)
I love the photos of your grandparents. Especially the one from 1914. I too love old photos, even ones that don't belong to me.
I am blessed with family pictures mine and my husband's -- but I still love looking at Anyone's old pictures -- the stories just leap out.
I love the pictures and the words. Life indeed flies by and it's hard to remember how people once were. Even though we age, I think we all still feel like that young person on the inside!
Tammy
We have a whole wall of framed pictures of family members when they were young -- it's like what I'm doing with Miss Birdie -- making sure folks realize there's a whole history there not just the old lady or old man they've always known.
I must admit that I have to think twice when asked how old I am, guess that's a good thing, BUT there are days when I do feel twice as old as I am. LOL
I think the old pictures, such as the 1914 picture, are really neat.
I love the photo of the couple in the carriage. I have many albums of pictures that my mother kept from her youth. I plan to scan them and make CDs for my nieces and nephews. It seems most people reach an age when those old photos appeal to them.
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