1)… photo memories of my childhood.
I still have a box, a large box, of photos from my mom. Several times, I have pulled it out, dug through, tried to add some sense of organization to the heap of undated and unmarked photos, mailed off items to brothers, family and then closed the lid. There are so many people in the box I do not know and I am running out of old people to ask. My daughter will end up throwing them out if I don’t first because, and I know this is obvious but am stating it more as a personal reminder, she won’t know the faces either.
As I mentally sift through my childhood memories, writing stories here on the blog I often wish I could find a photo of one thing or another. I only have a few photos of immediate family, pictures that include me. The box is full of faces I do not recognize, like Cigarette Man. I remembered the swagger emanating from this particular pic when I first ran across it and decided I might add it to a gallery wall. Doesn’t he make smoking look cool? So when I dug back through the box for Cigarette Man…my Auntie Dee thinks he might be my Uncle Chuck Bertsfield… I found this:
I know, its blurry, eyes are closed, not a very good picture. Its crooked and for a hot minute I edited it so the paneling was straight, but then the phone was cut out and the memory of having a phone permanently attached to the wall seems an important part life in the 70’s. It captures me, my childhood, happily barefoot, in a dress my mom had sewn from a few yards of clearance fabric, with grand parents I dearly loved for how they poured joy into my life.
Side note: I don’t actually think smoking is cool. I watched my dad die from throat cancer.
2)…to make the right decision.
Ever pick the wrong paint color, choose the wrong words in a discussion, question your last hour, day, week? I can lay awake nights re-running the conversation gone wrong. It feels so good to make the right decision. Honey and I stood over floor stain swatches being rubbed into the wood: after much patience by our contractor and 7 cans open and spread over freshly sanded floor boards, we left it. Dan Nation of Tru Finish repeated several times we should take our time picking the color that would cover the entire main floor of our home. Today, weeks later, I am still happy with the choice made. The color is just what I imagined: dark, but not too dark. Brown but not absorbing all the grain. Perfect.
Another Side Note: So glad I made the right decision not to smoke, even though I grew up in a house with 6 smokers. I think it was because I was the one who constantly emptied overflowing ashtrays. Or maybe it was because I burned myself with a cigarette?
3)…to find the right pair of socks.
I have cold feet. My feet sweat. I get blisters from even comfortable, well worn shoes. Is it the shoes, is it the socks? The sock quest continues.
And, is it just possible I’m related to the original Marlboro Man?
