The Little DIVA

A little diva in the making? Perhaps an opera star in her youth?


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A sidewalk serenade?

She might not be Lady Day, but I'm hoping she was belting out a nice piece of jazz for her sidewalk admirer.

My submission for Sepia Saturday.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

Double HOCKEY STICKS!

Sepia Saturday suggests golfers this week. Alas, I have no photos of golfers that I can remember. But woman with hockey sticks? I've got hockey sticks!

Both of these shots come from the photo album created by Betty Schnabel's mother, Louise. I have no idea where either of these shots were taken, but don't they look lovely in the first one. The second one they look like they're a bit more serious about playing than posing. And Betty's mother is in the second one behind the word "Candy." No idea what that means. And I'm confused how this is the 1919 hockey team if it was shot in 1916. Any suggestions?

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Click on image to see it larger.

I can remember playing hockey in high school. It was ludicrous. We went out onto a wet field in the winter wearing white Keds. And of course they watered the lawn each morning before we went out, even if had just rained. And then our shoes and socks would sit in our locker each day growing mold. We'd come back the next morning (I had PE first period which was the worst!) and have to put the wet shoes back on. I'd always try to bring a dry pair of socks. We all ended up putting our socks on followed by plastic bags followed by stinky shoes. The whole locker room smelled like a toxic waste dump.

And then there were the shin shields which were useless. The buckles were so loose that as soon as you ran down the field the shield was covering your calf. It wasn't a pretty sight. Lots of black and blue shins during hockey season. I hated it and always hoped I'd be on the best team so I could stand at the back and "guard" the goalie. I was very good at standing behind everyone letting them break into a sweat. I should have been given an award for that.

Don't get me started about swimming during the winter at first period. Only two hair dryers for over 30 girls in the late '60s when everyone had long hair. Complete frizz each day for weeks. There was no hope. I hated PE and by my senior year I'd developed a really bad attitude. It was my only time in high school where I let be known I'd had enough.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

Donald Jr.'s FRIEND or Wife

This is the same Louise that was in yesterday's photo of Betty Schnabel's brother Donald.


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This slide is not Kodachrome. I can't remember what it was, but it was PINK! Very PINK! It took a bit of work to bring back the colors.

It's a very '50s look.

And the original PINK slide.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

Betty's BROTHER

Another slide from the Schnable estate. This one is of Betty's brother, Don Jr., and Louise. I do not know if Louise was his wife.

Sure would like to see more of this ragtop. Anyone have an idea of what model it might be?


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I do love the color in old Kodachrome shots.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

The VERY SERIOUS FAMILY at Home

Like I said before, pay attention to the flooring with these folks.


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I wish I had names for these gorgeous kids. I also wish I could have seen them smile.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

STILL Camera

Film, in any form, has always been interesting to me. Anything visual, moving or still, attracts me. It's my shiny object. My father is the one who got me interested when I was young. He had a 35 mm and an 8 mm movie camera. Even my mother had a 35 mm. It wasn't until I was around eleven that they gave me my mom's old Brownie. I wish I could find the first snapshots I took. It was a sunny day at Fort DeRussy in Waikiki with my folks and my best friends family. I remember being anxious to get the prints hoping I'd done a good job. I used that camera for several years until my folks bought me my own Instamatic in the '60s.

Also in the '60s my maternal grandmother in Pennsylvania gave me her first Brownie, which looks very much like the one in this snapshot. My grandmother had to sell newspaper subscriptions to get the camera. I think she was around thirteen at the time. Both of her cameras, and my mom's old Brownie, sit on my bookshelf.

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This snapshot was purchased from a seller in Pennsylvania which leads me to believe the shot may have been taken there. It certainly looks like the rural Pennsylvania I remember from my childhood. The Appalachian Mountains could be seen from my grandparents back windows. Small mountains that in California would simply be called hills.

I like this shot for the simplicity. A woman standing in the sun on a dirt road with her Brownie camera and umbrella. Off in the distance people walking along the same dirt road. I imagine she eventually walked the same area where they can be seen. Perhaps a Sunday walk after church? A slow relaxed walk through the neighborhood, when neighborhoods were farmhouses spread far apart.

It's a still picture; a moving picture. It's my submission for Sepia Saturday.

The final Serious Family with the weird rugs will appear tomorrow.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

The VERY SERIOUS FAMILY

Was there someone out of sight saying, "Smile kids! Come on, smile!"



I'm beginning to think it's the flooring. Yup, the flooring is causing the problem.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

More of the SERIOUS FAMILY

Then there were three. And poor little fella left the barn door open.

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Pay attention to the flooring in all photos.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

The SERIOUS FAMILY

In November of 2014 I posted the following two photos. On the first day I posted this portrait of the pretty woman. The next day I posted a photo of two children that I assume are hers because they look so much like her. The children always look a bit confused.





So a year and half later I find more photos of the children. They never smile.


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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.

SNOW Driving

After yesterdays post I've done a lot of dreaming about my years at the family cabin in the Sierras. And so I add this snapshot to remind me of driving during the winter.


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Yes, there were the cold nights heading into the Sierras in snowstorms; anything to get up there for a weekend of skiing. It always came down to either putting the chains on ourselves or hiring a chain monkey. I was cheap; we usually put the chains on ourselves. It made it easier that I had a front wheel drive. And then we'd return to the line of red taillights making our way towards the summit.

But then there were days like the one in this photo when the freeway was empty; silence except for the sound of the chains on the crunching snow. Heading east over the summit for Truckee and a night of fun at our favorite hangout; wall to wall ski bums. It was a bit of heaven.

There was one thing I always took along on those weekend trips that I had to carry from the parking lot for the half mile tramp along the mostly snow packed road. Oh sure, I had to carry my skis, and my weekend bag of clothes, but the most important item was the briefcase full of LPs. Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark was always along. And so now when I listen to it I see the snow drifts and hear the heavy snow falling from the pine branches. I'd put it on for inspiration while getting ready for the night out.

Eventually there'd be the long drive home in the middle of the night on the empty freeway, again heading for the summit, heading west. We never really thought of the stupidity of what we did. We weren't going to get hurt. It wasn't our time. The walk through the darkness from the parking lot to the cabin, especially in a snowstorm, could be a slog, but then there was sleep followed by another day of skiing. It's my past and at times I miss it and would love to step back in time to do it one more time.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 7 available at Amazon.