A long ago afternoon

When I came across a small contact strip with photos that appeared to have my mother and at least Joan in them, I hustled over to my trusty, neighborhood photo guy and asked him how big he could make them!  (they were each about an inch square!)

This is one of them.  At first I thought it was the little house - but it's not.  For one thing, we never had a fence like that, and Mom said she never had a table like this one either.

After some thought, Mom said it was her neighbor Ruth Prue's back yard - in Burbank!  The girl in the chair in the foreground is Joan,  and Lyn is one of the towheaded boys in the shot.  Mom is under the tree.  There are 3 other shots on the contact strip, so I will have them enlarged also.  With more detail, we can make some closer IDs maybe!

Actually I remember Ruth Prue - but not from Burbank. Their family at some point moved out to Pearblossom, and often when we drove to Utah, my parents would stop there to say hi.  Every time we went up or back to BYU, we would stop there, so it's a somewhat clear memory for me.

I love old photos - and the stories that emerge.  I can just image my mom as a young mother, having lunch outside with the neighbor.  I have had outdoor lunches like that - and maybe even have some photos - I will have to look!

Really, some things never change!  (and Ruth is obviously a with-it young mom with a cool apron!!)

Old times!!

If you click on this, it looks like my mom and dad on a camping trip - probably with his younger siblings and young step-siblings too.  I'm really not sure of the identity of the others in the shot.  But we have other shots of my mom and dad on this same camping trip, so I'm pretty sure it's them.

I have so many old photos - and I really need to get them in some kind of order - especially while there are still folks around who can help me figure things out!

Others say retirement is the answer.  I say that some kind of organizational set-up where I can start sorting is the key.

I will let you know how it goes.

And maybe post more photos.  (For example of the negatives I found of some kind of airplane - on the ground - and old cars and bikes all around it - wish I'd asked my dad about that one while he was still alive!!)

Remembering Grandpa Terrill - aka "Pop"

Today is Ground Hog's Day. And it's Grandpa Terrill's birthday. This year he will have been gone for 20 years. And you look at this photo and it seems like he is frozen in time - great old photos have a way of doing that.

We all have Grandpa Terrill memories - I recall all the times he came up to Utah to go hunting with Harry. He'd be at our house - and he was the most gracious and affable guest. One time he complimented me on the meal I had prepared. I didn't think it was all that great, but he said, "At least it's original. I hate the predictability of packaged or restaurant food."

Another time he gave me a charming little children's plate and cup - they were china - he said they'd been a gift from a client who was congratulating him on his new granddaughter. The cup still sits on the bathroom sink in Bonny's house.


One of my favorite photos is of him holding Hannah when she was a baby. She had casts on her legs. He wasn't famous for holding babies or tending them, but he held her the whole time we were at a family Easter egg hunt at a park. And she didn't fuss or wiggle or squirm. I think they were soulmates for that little span of time.



And those sad days at the end, when he was confused and upset. But he called our house and always knew who I was. One time he called and asked for Harry. And he said, "He's a fine man you know." Obviously part of the memory was still intact.

The photo below is from the last hunting trip he took - with your Dad and Jim.


Think about your Grandpa Terrill - and share a memory if you have one!


And maybe give Grandma a call!

More Bikes

This is Bruce - these are a few of his bikes.

Annika - fierce as always


Mom - she was there - documenting

Dad - I think this is where Annika gets her fierceness.

Today in the Times

I recall after Bonny graduated from high school, that I missed seeing her friends. Young people who had been part of our lives - in and out of our house, talked about, phone calls from, issues with - were no longer there. When holidays or other events brought them back, I would think "I have missed these young people."

This exodus happened with each succeeding child. It was a sense of not so much loss, but passage of time - time that would not be re-captured. I would always say, "You are always welcome. If you are in the neighborhood or need a place to stay, let us know." And some have come by, some have stayed here. But pretty much, those individuals are memories in a photo album or a yearbook or conversations when the family gets together or when one of the kids mentions a friend.

I think sometimes I thought that this emotion was unique to me. So imagine my delight when I found this on the op-ed page of the LA Times this morning. And thank heavens it was a Saturday so I had time to stop and read it!!

Where there's smoke....

This one broke my heart.




More pix here.

Hope you all are staying safe!!

Vacations

Noah wrote the following at a FHE activity we had in 2002: "In our household, there were two kinds of vacations: family vacations, and individual vacations. While family vacations were mostly just regular vacations with the family, individual vacations could be anywhere from flying somewhere by yourself to going on a young men's trip. Even staying at the house by yourself for a week could be considered a vacation.

Although I loved the family vacations we took toTahoe, St. Geroge, and many other places, I was always very excited to go on an individual vacation. The sense of independence, being able to do most anything you wanted . . . I loved it.

The first individual vacation I can remember was when I was 9 years old. On my 9th birthday, after opening all of my presents, my big brother Harry called to wish me a happy birthday and to tell me my present: a plane ticket to go up to visit him in Utah for a week. I was so excited. I had never flown in a plane before, and I hadn't seen Harry in almost a year. I couldn't wait.

About 3 months later, I left on a plane for the first time ever for Utah. I remember being really happy and excited (which is funny, because I hate flying now) and I remember Dad was with me. He was coming up for the first half of the week to check something on some property we had up there.

I don't remember much about the first half of the week, except that we saw The Fifth Element at the dollar theatre. The second half of the week wasn't too different. We saw about 6 movies while I was up there. I remember we camped out the first night, and we stayed in some of his friends' apartments during the rest of the week. I also remember selling meat door-to-door one of the days. But the one thing I remember that was most important was that it was awesome because I was in Utah with my only brohter who I didn't see very often, watching movies and eating Little Debbies for dinner. I was in heaven.

Finally the week ended. Harry sent me off at the Salt Lake City airport, and I went home. I don't remember too much about the flight, except that I loved it, and I got up to go to the bathroom a lot. (The way the toilets flush is just so cool.) And there was this guy named Chuck who sat next to me. Pretty fun, huh?

I have since taken several individual vacations, and things have changed quite a bit. I often get sick on flights now, and I don't eat Little Debbies for dinner so much. But one thing remains the same: I love the sense of independence."

The above photo was taken on August 18, 1996. So I'm just commemorating the occasion.