"Mom, get off your rocker ..."

... and enjoy the parade.

Grand Lake, Colorado, July 4, 1967. Enjoy the humor.

Twitter shuts down Putin-parody account.

" "All of the world's repressive regimes are aware that spontaneous, organic protests have been organized through Twitter. (...) If a company like Twitter can be told 'kill these accounts now' and they do it, whose side are they on?" "

We share a laugh.

Suburban Chicago, November 1972. My paternal Grandmother, Tatjana, gets a kick out of one of the photos in her birthday album.

A Proverb, Illustrated

Poland, November 1966. "Not my circus, not my monkey."

"And also, while Sangelica is adorable 95 percent of the time, it’s really pretty disturbing to see how the bear drinks through its forehead."

A giant teddy bear walks into a Tokyo Starbucks.

Roar

Brookfield Zoo, November 1966. Here's a photo that makes me laugh. This fellow looks like a human in a lion suit.

Related by Marriage: Strength Test

Fort Popham, Phippsburg, Maine, 1953. The friend continues to explore the landmark.

Centered

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1936. Kaunas Nina may be too young to get the joke.

Thanks to Kaunas Nina's daughter—my Kaunas Cousin—for making this photo available to us.

Monitoring the traffic.

On Google Sheep View.

Rye Bread

Suburban Chicago, April 1974. My Dad's twin sister, Jonė, enjoys breakfast while we share a joke.

She's eating a soft-boiled egg. We serve soft-boiled eggs in egg cups. It used to be difficult to find egg cups, but now, they are common.

Class Notes (Part 8)

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote:

For Memories!
I'm not a poet, verse I do not write
if you don't like that
then I apologize

Your friend E.

... A Secret

*     *     *     *     *

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. The "secret corner" reveals the penalty for peaking:

Whoever looks here
The horns of a devil must wear.

Victory Day

Former Soviet republics reject symbols that celebrate the seventieth anniversary of Victory Day.

ADDED: Enjoy some humor.

Class Notes (Part 7)

Many friends who wrote "remembrances" in my Mom's memento booklet used a then-common humor device. After a friend penned a sentimental note, she folded the bottom corner of the page. On the corner's edge, the friend wrote "Paslaptis," or "secret." When the reader unfolded the corner, she learned the concealed message only stated the penalty for her curiosity.
 

 Kaunas Lithuania, 1934. On this Class Notes page, my Mom's friend wrote:

For Memories!
My hand writes,
But it doesn't know for whom.
But the heart tells me
It's for beloved you.

From L.

 ... A Secret

 *     *     *     *     *

Kaunas, Lithuania, 1934. The "secret corner" reveals the penalty:

Mr. Secret.

Whoever looks here
On the back of a chick must ride.

(The message rhymes in Lithuanian.)

Happy Dance

Suburban Chicago, about 1982. That's my friend Kris dancing with Dad, and Mom takes a spin with Uncle Al. Kris reports the group danced to the piano playing of Sister Bernarda (back visible on the right), a family friend and a member of the Sisters of St. Casimir. Sister Bernarda was a music teacher at Maria High School—the high school from which Mr. Irene's Mom graduated.

Thanks to my friend Kris for making this photo available to us.

The only thing I ever liked about a circus.

Chicago, Illinois, 1961 or 1962. It's the clown car filled with dogs.

(This may have been taken at an ice show; not at the circus.)

A Dad Joke

Glacier National Park, Montana, July 1970. Dad's in a clowning mood. This photo always makes me laugh.

A Sunday Table

Suburban Chicago, 1967. My Mom sits with Jadzė D and Jadzė D's husband. Mom sewed her dress; it was crafted from yellow, Shantung silk (covered buttons!). Jadzė D knitted her dress.

Pothole Problems

In Lithuania.

Lift

Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, July 1967. This girl, a fellow tourist, and I became good friends during our Colorado vacations. She had a great sense of humor.

"Tiny Hamsters Eating Tiny Burritos."

I can't resist a hamster: