Weekend Warm Up

Tinley Park, Illinois, June 1967. Enjoy a picnic if the weather still cooperates.

Looking Back

Near Seligenstadt, Germany, 1946. My Mom and fellow Displaced Persons walk near the camp.

Sunday at the Planetarium

Chicago, Illinois, January 1961. I continue to resist our visit to Adler Planetarium. My Toronto Cousin ignores my antics.

Emotional Reunion

Brookfield Zoo, Illinois, Spring 1962. Dad snaps a favorite subject.

Resistance

Chicago, Illinois, January 1961. My Dad has driven us to Adler Planetarium. I have no interest in visiting another space exhibit.

When animals seem human.

Brookfield Zoo, June 1963. Many images depict animals in anthropomorphic poses. This was a subject that intrigued my Dad, and he often snapped pictures of zoo animals who looked uncannily human.

In those photographs, Dad captured animals naturally engaging in behaviors people associate with humans. That's a different category from photos in which someone stages animals to act as if they are humans.

Sunday Tea

Kaunas, Lithuania, early 1930s. My favorite photos are the ones in which people naturally show expressions of love. These are friends of my Dad's older cousin, Henry, and his wife, Suzanne.

Thanks to my Kaunas Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Related by Marriage: Men in Arms

 
Chicago, Illinois, October 1950. Here's another image from the send off gathering in honor of Mr. Irene's paternal Uncle, Ignas. You know the men aren't Americans because of the manner in which they're interlocked at the elbows. American men wouldn't connect this way; they instead would wrap their arms around one another's shoulders.

(European men also are comfortable sitting with crossed legs.)

What did I see?

Suburban Chicago, May 1961. I've riden a short distance from the driveway, and this time, I am not wagging my finger. Here, I might be pointing at our neighbors' dog, Mikey—or maybe at their cat.

Waiting for Business

Venice, Italy, April 1984. The gondolieri haven't switched yet to the uniforms they typically wear in the summer. The men stand in front of the Palazzo Ducale.

Dad started experimenting with the self-timer.

Near Parry Sound, Ontario, Canada, July 1957. Dad has just made it into the frame, and Mom's gesturing about the shot.

Anthropomorphism

Animal portraits.

Listening to the speech.

Schweinfurt, Germany, 1948. My Dad, on the far left, listens as a fellow scout reads his remarks.

Is Princess Anne ...

... making the "loser" gesture?

Thanks for lunch.

I spent some delightful time today with a friend who likes cameloids.

Brookfield Zoo, March 1970. I reprimand the llamas because they refuse to share my treats.

Dora is back.

Last night, as we prepared for our "three-dog-night" bedtime routine, my Mom came upstairs, as she usually does, to lend a hand with the pups. Yesterday she carried two envelopes with her, up to the dining room. The envelopes contained photos I had never seen. It was another "eureka moment," when an unexpected cache of photos appears in the house. Coincidentally, Mr. Irene visited his folks yesterday, and they, too, produced a few folders of "new" old snapshots.

I thought I had ferreted out all of the old family photos. I don't want the stream of old photos to end. But I've also considered how this blog will evolve when the old images all have been posted. I am delighted when I can postpone transformations.

So here is Dora, coaxing her little doggie to stay in the beg position:

Kaunas, Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, September 10, 1959. Dora writes,"I am wearing the taffetta dress with 'Pupkė,' our little dog. But this is a weak photo. I look much better in real life."

(We have named two of our dogs, Pupa and Poppy, after the term "'Pupkė," a common Lithuanian word of endearment. My Mom, for example, still calls me "Pupulė.")

Idle Time

Venice, Italy, June 1984. Gondolieri pass the time as they wait for tourists to hire them. They're assembled near the Calle della Canonica, on the north end of the Basilica San Marco.

Wedding Table

Toronto, Ontario, November 1949. Guests celebrate the wedding of my Dad's twin sister, Jonė. Jonė sits on the far right; she has flowers in her hair. To Jonė's right sits her new husband, Kadis, who has intertwined his arm into that of his new mother-in-law, my paternal Grandmother, Tatjana.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

A Different Location

This group of Displaced Persons lived in Lübeck, a camp that housed none of my relatives. Like people in other camps, the folks pictured here seem relaxed and engaged in normal activities, despite the post-war atmosphere.

The photo even features two fellows—one less earnest than the other—pulling up the timeless bunny ears gesture.

Lübeck, Germany, about 1946. Toronto Al's Dad Vladas—the handsome guy lying down—joins his fellow friends, also Displaced Persons, for a snapshot. The group in this photo also looks like it is ready for an American-style fashion shoot.

Thanks to my Toronto Cousin for making this photo available to us.

Frustrations

Amber Reunion experienced some technical frustrations today. I was ready to walk away and neglect my self-imposed "post quota."

But I am a stubborn hag. So I did a jig, popped a finger wag, and basta. We are back in business.

Suburban Chicago, March 1964. I dance to shake out the pre-bedtime frustrations.

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Suburban Chicago, March 1964. I've learned the finger-wag gesture from Tatjana. That maneuver, if pointed towards a Parent, will really send me to bed.