A MYSTERIOUS THREESOME under lockdown

Hello fellow lockdown-ers. Not a real word, but I'm entitled to make up any word I want while locked in my house.

I doubt anyone will find this post for a long time because, for all intents and purposes, this site has been dead. Nothing going on. I've thought about it, but I just couldn't commit. I haven't even been going to flea markets, estate sales, or antique stores for several years. I knew I shouldn't spend the money so why tempt myself.

However, recently on the way home from Costco I did make a brief stop at a small warehouse/estate sale. I scoured the premises in search of photos and found a few winners which I scored for less than two bucks. When I walked up with a bunch of photobooth shots that were rubber banded together the seller said, "Oh, I don't want to count those. How about a dollar for the lot?" Fine will me. Fifteen shots for a buck. Now that's a bargain.

Now a normal person would look at this photo and see a happy couple having their picture taken by a friend. I, of course, am not normal. I see problems. The smiling wife. The worried husband. The other woman coming between them as a dark shadow. Who thinks there was something going on?

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

Was it really FIFTY YEARS AGO?

This is a repost of one I did on July 20, 2009. Hard to believe this was so very long ago.
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This is for Robert at Live from the Surface of the Moon. I generally don't share personal family photos or anything that I've shot, but this is different. This is part of the human experience 40 years ago. This was a global experience and I haven't seen anything since then that has stopped the rotation of the earth in the same way. 

I was one of those people sitting glued to my tv for days awaiting the arrival of the astronauts on the moon and none of it was a hyped let down. It was all magnificent. I snapped pictures with my 35 mm Mamiya Sekor. I had my little reel to reel tape recorder going. All I have left are vague memories buried deep inside that can really only be conjured by closing my eyes or going outside on an especially beautiful full moon night. The reel to reel recording? In a box. I long ago lost the ability to play it. I'm sure there are thousands of photos like this all over the world in long forgotten boxes.

For those who weren't alive to experience this, I'm sorry. You missed a humdinger!

Years later friends dragged me nearly kicking and screaming to the MGM Grand for a show. First off I don't like casinos, secondly I hate casino shows. This was billed as an extravaganza with the high point...a real plane on the stage with half naked woman standing on the wings waving and truly lousy dancers cavorting across the stage as the curtain was pulled back. I gritted my teeth while the people in the audience sat mesmerized and applauding. It was all nonsense and I wondered how they could be excited by this when less than 10 years before we'd seen two men walk on the moon. People forget and they move onto the next shiny object. Not me.

The Party's OVER

In keeping with this Saturday's Sepia Saturday prompt I give you my take on the revelers.

The party is over and the women have excused themselves to the kitchen where they make in depth small talk (they do it, seriously, it's in depth) over the cold cuts...

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while the men...well, the men haven't quite stopped partying. They can tell it to the judge in the morning.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

Ahhh, SWEET WILDERNESS...Sour Stomach, but Sweet Wilderness

Nothing like having breakfast outside on a camping trip...unless you get food poisoning. You're a long way from medical attention out in the woods. You better make sure to NOT put mayo on anything before you leave home.

As to what's going on here? I'd say these folks are not paying attention to the family member writhing next to the tent. Did he eat something gone bad? Is the woman in the foreground smelling the bread thinking, "Oh geez, this is gone bad. Wonder if anyone has noticed."
Click on the top image to see it larger.

 This is my submission this week for Sepia Saturday. Just hang the sign on my door "Gone Camping!"

And no idea why the second photo is green. The original isn't. The one uploaded isn't. But then this page has been a nightmare to create. 
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

How to FRAME YOUR SUBJECT: Photography 101

Click on image to see it larger.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

DAPPER Dan

Looking at this week's Sepia Saturday prompt I'm wondering if this might be where the man in the straw boater was heading.

In this case, this dapper Dan, is my great-grandfather with his second wife. His name really was Dan. This was in the backyard of their row house in Pennsylvania, probably around 1914.

Click on image to see it larger.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

METEOR BOB

Meteor Bob was part of the early space program. It was very low budget. Bob would wander around in his backyard with a badminton racket perusing the sky for any incoming meteorites. For each meteorite he hit back into orbit he would be paid $50,000.

Bob died a very poor man.

Click on image to see it larger.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

Mrs. S. WICKET

Always available for Sunday afternoon games, Mrs. Stickey Wicket was always the first person invited to croquet parties. She never understood why.

Click on image to see it larger.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

A MAN and His Car

Living in California we are pretty much raised to think a car is an extension of our body. We also seem to think it's a constitutional right to have a car. No place is this more obvious than Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area during commute time. Pure hell. Car after car going by with a single occupant.

It used to be, I believe, that cars were a statement about a man's manhood. For woman it wasn't the engine—or so the dealers thought—but the color of the outside and interior of the car and whether it had a mirror the ladies could look at to do their makeup. Seriously, they were idiots. Though I find nearly all ads for cars pretty stupid and repetitive (don't get me started on the luxury models that we're supposed to put under the Christmas tree each year), at least there is an attempt to go beyond the clichés of the past with the male/female stereotypes. Now we're supposed to be reckless, off-road, and extremely hot looking. I'm just glad I ended up in publishing and not advertising. I would have been shown the door in no time at all.

This week's Sepia Saturday photo is of a fellow standing in front of a car. I immediately went to the big BIG box of photos I was given for Christmas. Surely in the hundreds of shots in that glorious box there must be at least one of a guy with a car. I stopped after finding the following three.

I do know who this fellow was. His name was Ben and he was a Naval officer.

Click on image to see it larger.

On the back of this one it says "Taken June 18, 8th grade graduation." Diggin' the car and the flattop.

Click on image to see it larger.

NO idea who this fun fellow is.

Click on image to see it larger.

I love my car. I love driving my car. I have always loved driving. I do like to drive fast, but I don't anymore. The fastest I've ever driven was on the Autobahn. I thought I was doing pretty good until I saw the flashing headlights way way way behind me approaching at a tremendous speed. No sooner had I seen them and pulled into the slower lane than a Porsche blur shot by. I pretty much stayed in the slow lane the rest of the time which was still moving very fast.

As I recall I have only one photo of myself standing next to a car. It was a bright red Audi in Germany. I loved that car too. It's long gone, but like with most cars, the memory remains.
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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

The EYES Are the Windows to This Girls Soul

If you saw the previous post you will recognize this little girl. You will also recognize that no matter where she goes trouble follows.

Click on image to see it larger.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

When DISASTER HITS THE BEDROOM!

When I saw this week's Sepia Saturday image I knew exactly what photo I wanted to post. Disaster? You want to see a disaster? I've got a disaster for you. The problem became, "Where did I put that shot?" Some photos are nicely filed away if they are to be part of a series, others not so lucky. This one took awhile, which meant I got to sort, which meant I got to peruse, which meant I got to say, "Oh, I'd forgotten about this one."

There are only two legitimate reasons for what appears in this photo. Two! No more than two!

1. This is Hurricane Hannah who had nightly swirling toys in her bedroom. When you turn on the lights everything settles around her. Turn off the lights and it's all swirling again. Hannah lives in Kansas so this is pretty normal stuff.

2. This is Magnetic Mabel. Mabel's mom has given up asking her to clean her room. In fact her mom has asked her to stay in her room because whenever Mabel leaves her room this stuff follows her...and then everything else metal in the house follows her. Neighborhood kids think it's cool when Mabel comes out the door with the Mixmaster and toaster oven—with her dad's toast inside—tagging along behind her.

I'm sure you can come up with your own reasons as to why this little girl is cornered by her toys.

It's a disaster I tell you! A complete disaster!

Click on image to see it larger.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

1940s GLAMOUR

This is a very large print: 11" x 14". It, along with a large box of photos, was a gift from a friend at Christmas.

I have no information about the woman in this photo or who took it. It's obviously a glamour shot, most likely taken in the '40s. Was this a wife's pinup to send to her husband?

Unlike the glamour shots of today, which often look just a little too tacky, this is done in the style of George Hurell. Done in the style, but in no way captures the magic that he did. Take a look at Hurell's work, especially similar ones, and you'll find that this one is a bit confusing. The photo was taken as a horizontal, but turned horizontal it just looks weird. Well, it looks weird either way. At least with the vertical she's making eye contact. Look at the shots Hurell took of Bette Davis and Veronica Lake. They make sense as horizontal images.

Now look at this one horizontal.

I think her chin should have been lifted up more allowing a better gaze into the lens. But then I'm just being picky. I imagine the woman, and any recipient, must have been thrilled. It is a lovely shot, but it could have been so much more.

And if I'm going to be even more picky, I think the photographer should have touched up the shot by taking out whatever the heck that is on her sleeve. It's really annoying.

This is what I came up with for Sepia Saturday after being gone for so long. Just as the Sepia Saturday selection is a little "off" so is this one. 

I have missed participating and I'm happy to see it is still up and running. I appreciate the work put in to keep it going.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

Buyer BEWARE and Then Some

This is just a little note to tell people to think twice about buying any of my books from third party sellers. First they jack them up to ridiculous prices and secondly they don't actually have the books; this is on both eBay and Amazon. They are scamming you to pay for something they never acquired themselves and then charging insane prices for the book and the shipping. Please think twice about buying from them. This is sort of a crooked thing Amazon is aware of and allows to happen. Just buy the book direct if you want one. They're nice books and I don't want people to have bad experiences trying to get them. I have pride in them and these sellers just make me want to take a shower to wash off the disgust.

And now back to my regular programming.

This is a photo my friend Bert gave me. Cute little fella with a very tiny wagon. I mean a really tiny wagon. Not much would fit in that wagon except maybe some gumdrops or a tiny bear. You have to use your imagination with a wagon that small.

There's no information about the little fella or the photographer.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 9 available at Amazon.

The SUBLIMENESS OF BEING A CAT

For your viewing pleasure. 

A collection of cat snapshots in a new book. If you're a cat lover I think you'll enjoy this.

Tattered and Lost: The Sublimeness of Being a Cat

DALZELL STEELWORKS in Motherwell, Scotland

My paternal grandfather worked at the Dalzell Steelworks in Motherwell, Lanarkshire, Scotland. His father worked at the steelworks. As I recall I had other relatives who also worked there. The other thing that ties all of them together is they all immigrated to California in the 1920s; not one of them ever returned to Scotland.

Click on image to see it larger.

My grandfather is in this photo. I'm not sure if any other relatives are in it. Within a few months my grandfather set off with a few of his brothers for North America. His father, mother, sister, and fiancé followed a year later. All of that would be unremarkable except for the fact that my grandfather's great-great-grandfather had arrived in North America almost exactly the same day one hundred years earlier settling in Canada. Until last year none of my family knew anything about this. I'm still fascinated to find that I had relatives arrive in 1821 and 1921.

As to the Dalzell Steelworks, I can say very little. I remember driving by it in the early 1970s on a trip to Scotland. By that time it had been open for a little over one hundred years. It was closed in 2015, but reopened in 2016.

David Colville & Sons, a Scottish iron and steel company, was founded in 1871 and it opened its Dalzell Steel and Iron Works at Motherwellin 1872. By the first World War, it was the largest steel works in Scotland and it continued to expanded afterwards taking over a number of other steel works in Cambuslang and Glengarnock.

Nationalised in 1951, it became part of the Iron and Steel Corporation of Great Britain. It was privatised in 1955 and the construction of Ravenscraig steelworks resulted in the closure of a number of its other works. It was renationalised in 1967, becoming part of British Steel Corporation. (Source: Wikipedia)

There was a rumor on my mother's side of the family that we had some sort of connection to Bethleham Steel in Pennsylvania. I've never been able to prove this.

I personally can't imagine working in a steel mill, but then I also can't imagine being a coal miner and I have many ancestors from Scotland who made their living in the mines. I relate more to the Scottish ancestors who worked looms and made hats. What on earth would any of these people think of the way I've made my living working for myself for all but one year of my professional life? I imagine they'd think me soft and lazy. They'd be right.

This is my submission for Sepia Saturday this week. I've been away for a long time.

If it HADN'T BEEN FOR THE FIRE...

I don't know when I'd have ever found this photo.

I live in the area in California that was recently ravaged by fires. I did not lose my home, but I know some of those that did. It was two weeks of monitoring news nonstop waiting to find where the evacuation lines had been redrawn. Hospitals were closed, phone lines were down, cell phone coverage was spotty, and trying to contact doctors for my ailing father was impossible for days. Panic began to set in as I tried to gather family documents and photos for the possible evacuation and at the same time wondered where to go for the medical care my father so desperately needed.

I remember taking a shoebox out of a closet and looking inside to find photos I didn't remember. There was no time to ponder the contents, just get them in the car, and move on to the next box and files. Over the next few weeks I kept thinking about this box and the photo of my grandmother that was on the top of the pile. I think the box had probably been put in the closet over thirty years ago.

Finally, with some calm returning to life, about a week ago I decided to look through the box. I was dumbfounded by some of what I found. This woman is my great-grandmother and I never knew I had this photo. In fact, I didn't think I had any photos of this woman. She died giving birth to her second daughter, my grandmother's sister. My grandmother was too young to remember her mother and I'd always assumed there were no pictures of her. I've looked online hoping through genealogy searches that I'd find some distant relative that might have a photo of her. Nope, nothing. I've never even found her obituary. She just seemed to be an elusive spirit I would never see. So it was a great and pleasant shock to find not one but three photos of her from childhood to near when she died.

So, if it hadn't been for the fire I might not have found my great-grandmother for many more years. Her life was not filled with joy and it was cut short causing my grandmother even more grief in her life. But now a hole in my heart is a little smaller knowing Sara will no longer be forgotten.

This is my first time back with Sepia Saturday in months. My life as a twenty-four hour a day caregiver has forced me to put most things on the back burner. I will try my best to make the rounds in the coming days and look forward to reading the other Sepia posts. 

This photo is not within the theme, but it is for me a grand photo taken with a camera even more important than the one in the Sepia theme photo.

And though I found something joyful because of the fires, I will never forget the thousands left homeless who lost everything. The scar on the land will eventually disappear, but the emotional scars will be here for decades.

A BICYCLE in Summer

As a kid summer wouldn't have been the same without a bicycle. Summer meant freedom from school. Each morning meant freedom to have an adventure.

A ride up the road to the pear orchards to where the new houses were being built, pilfering wayward nails from the building site, back home to work on the tree house.

Click on image to see it larger.

Or maybe it was a ride into town to check out what was new at the toy store and a stop at the deli for a sandwich.

Maybe just a ride up to the school grounds to see if anyone was hanging around the basketball courts.

Riding with friends. No helmets. No handbrakes. Just bandaids on our knees covering up the scratches that had just been sprayed with Bactine. Apparently Bactine is still made, but I haven't seen any in decades. I'd like to smell it again. It's one of those smells from childhood that I sort of miss.

This is my submission for Sepia Saturday and a wish that all fellow Sepians remember the good times a bicycle gave them.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

They Called Him BULLDOG

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

The Cavalry FAN DANCER

With leave being weeks away, the guys were getting anxious for a little entertainment. Henry said he'd seen a fan dancer in the big city and thought he could recreate it. The guys weren't convinced, but here's Henry out looking for his costume.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.

The Writing's ON THE WALL

My submission for Sepia Saturday are amateur portraits of women. I'm especially drawn to shots of woman with textured backgrounds. That's as deep as I'll get this week other than to say many women go through life feeling invisible. It doesn't get any better as they get older. You can imagine these women fading into their backgrounds.

Click on images to see them larger.

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Tattered and Lost volumes 1 to 8 available at Amazon.