russelljtdyer
Writer
Perhaps in honor of Mother's Day and Father's Day -- they're both around this time; one was recently and the other soon -- let's see photos of one or more of our parents, but when they were babies or young children. Obviously, these will not be photos we took since we weren't born yet. But it's interesting to see such old photos, especially ones that are dear to us.
Below is a photo taken of my mother when she was a child, I think when she was almost one year old. This would have been in late 1934. It was taken in front of my family's house in New Orleans, at 1210 Chartres Street -- in the French quarter.
If you look at Google Maps for that address and switch to street view, you can see that the house hasn't changed much since this photo was taken: just some paint and repairs. I think they restored the original colors. Many of the same kind of plants and trees are still in the yard, including a Japanese Plum tree.
As for my mother, her name is Fortunata -- she's a Sicilian American. Her hair is curly brown -- they called her Fuzzy as a child -- and her eyes are light blue.
One last comment, somewhat an existential one: They say that a woman is born with all of the eggs or ova that she will have for her lifetime. That means that the ovum that would become me was there in New Orleans, in this little girl in 1934. In a sense and in part, I've been around for 84 years, with my mother keeping me hidden, nurtured and protected for 27 years and then for at least another twenty years after that as I walked around thinking I was so smart -- followed by another couple of decades thinking she doesn't understand me and other such foolishness. Soon she will be gone. I will miss her, but I won't forget her or stop loving her.
Let's see some other people's mothers and fathers as children. Please post your photos and tell your stories in honor of them.
Below is a photo taken of my mother when she was a child, I think when she was almost one year old. This would have been in late 1934. It was taken in front of my family's house in New Orleans, at 1210 Chartres Street -- in the French quarter.
If you look at Google Maps for that address and switch to street view, you can see that the house hasn't changed much since this photo was taken: just some paint and repairs. I think they restored the original colors. Many of the same kind of plants and trees are still in the yard, including a Japanese Plum tree.
As for my mother, her name is Fortunata -- she's a Sicilian American. Her hair is curly brown -- they called her Fuzzy as a child -- and her eyes are light blue.
One last comment, somewhat an existential one: They say that a woman is born with all of the eggs or ova that she will have for her lifetime. That means that the ovum that would become me was there in New Orleans, in this little girl in 1934. In a sense and in part, I've been around for 84 years, with my mother keeping me hidden, nurtured and protected for 27 years and then for at least another twenty years after that as I walked around thinking I was so smart -- followed by another couple of decades thinking she doesn't understand me and other such foolishness. Soon she will be gone. I will miss her, but I won't forget her or stop loving her.
Let's see some other people's mothers and fathers as children. Please post your photos and tell your stories in honor of them.
David Hughes
David Hughes
Taken in late 1916 or early 1917; my mother on the left with, obviously, my grandmother.
Regards, David
