Saturday Night Fever

We've been out and about for the last several Saturdays, either goofing off (fun), running errands (less fun) or, in the case of last Saturday, fixing my fence (way, way not fun).  Regardless, I haven't been able to participate in Sepia Saturday for a while and I've been missing it.  Mostly because a few weeks ago, I found this:



There's an album in my pile which, from the looks of it, whas put together some time in the 60s by my Grandma Ruby Day for my dad.  It's an odd mixture of his baby pictures, his grandparents on both sides and his children.  Some are marked, but most, like this one, aren't. What a shame.  I think, judging from other photos, that the gentleman with the worried look on his face (2nd from left) might be my great-grandfather.  Here's hoping he was a really good bluffer and that his hand isn't quite as bad as his face makes it look.

Regardless, I love this shot -- the liquor strewn over the table, the tipped hand that you can see belonging to the guy who's been cut out of the picture, the utter concentration.  It's all pretty much awesome.  This is what I expect your typical Saturday night might've looked like in Kansas farm country way back when (1910 or so?).  If anyone can better place the period based on the clothing or scenery, I'd love to hear about it.

Party on!

(and check out Sepia Saturday for tons of other cool vintage photos)

A Day to Remember

A couple of weeks ago, someone who stumbled across this blog invited me to participate in a meme called Sepia Saturday.  The idea is to post vintage pictures.  As it happens, I have approximately eleventy billion vintage pictures.  And, since this is the first Saturday that I was able to participate, I sat down to pick through them and find a few to share.  I'm thinking that this being September 11 and all, it would be good to honor the folks in my family who've fought to protect their country.  Here they are...

This is my brother,  who served during the Vietnam war.  According to family legend, he was the only survivor from his squad.  I don't know if this is actually true, because as far as I know, he never spoke about his time there. 

This is my dad, who served as an aircraft mechanic during WWII.  He was fresh out of high school at the time.  I love how much alike they look in these photos, taken  at least 25 years apart.

And this is my grandpa (on Mom's side, no relation to the guys above).  He's the scrawny little guy on the front left.  As far as I can tell, he was a tank gunner during WWII -- probably because he fit.

Thankfully, all 3 of them made it home safely -- unlike many of their friends and fellow soldiers.  So today, just a moment of thanks for Dad, Grandpa and my brother, all of the soldiers who fought by their sides, those who came before them, and those who followed in their footsteps.  May their sacrifices never be in vain.