Monday, September 30: ‘Share a photo of something old. Maybe something that has personal history for you, that was passed down to you, and that has special meaning to you. Tell us about it and why it’s special.‘
I do not really have anything ‘old’ that was passed down to me. My dad was going to give me his mother’s rings when his dad passed away but my grandpa had put them somewhere ‘safe’ and they were never found. My dad’s rings were stolen somewhere between the scene of the accident and the hospital because he arrived at the funeral home without them. After his death I took a few things of his home with me.
Books.
My dad really enjoyed the 20-volume Aubrey-Maturin series (ever see Master & Commander with Russell Crowe?) and so I took home eight of the books. I have 1-10, minus 8 and 9. I have begun the first book but need to pick it up again and start all over. It is one of those that requires your full attention. Since my dad loved them so much I feel I need to read the whole series while I am alive. I found my local used book vendor has many of his books too. So I should have no trouble finding the other twelve books in the series.
I remember reading Tunnel in the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein as a girl after my dad recommended I give it a try. His worn copy was the first book I looked for on his bookshelf and now it sits on the top shelf of mine.
Three books, just as old as the previous book mentioned, I found about the United States Marine Corps in World War II were in my dad’s collection. Vol. I: Beginning’s End, Vol. 2: Battering the Empire, and Vol. 3 Death of an Empire. Printed in the early ’70s the pages are now an amber colour and they all contain a middle section of black and white WWII photographs. The books were compiled and edited by S.E. Smith.
A Photograph.
I know I look like my dad and that we have the same eyes. But when I saw old photographs of what his mum looked like when she was a young woman I was surprised to see how much I looked like her. All my memories of my dad’s father mostly revolve around visits to his his trailer in the elderly community where he lived in New Jersey. It always had a strange musty smell of mildew and a bitter cat named Reggie, who hissed whenever he saw my sister or I. My grandpa was nice and liked to watch old episodes of the original Star Trek and Next Generation. We saw him once every three years or so since we lived in Europe and he died during my sophomore year of Uni.
It was after his funeral that I found an old photograph of him and his wife, a woman who died before I was born, and fell in love with it. They both are so young and look so happy. They look like a couple I wish I could have known. Honestly I wish my dad had been alive longer so I could have asked him more about them and what it was like growing up. But back to the photo. I love all the elements of the time…his pinstripe suit, stripe tie, and pocket square and her 1940’s styled hair, pretty black dress with tear drop cut outs and pretty sleeves. It is a souvenir photo from a date night out at the Village Barn Restaurant which was on 52 W. 8th St in NYC.
As an interesting tidbit I did some research and found out that though it closed in the late 1960’s it became Electric Lady Studios, where famous rock group legends like Jimi Hendrix and The Clash recorded.
This was the last post for #Blogtember
I really enjoyed being a part of this series with Jenni and now look forward to returning to recapping our summer adventures in Wales in England…aka your regularly scheduled programming here on ACR.
Q: Have you been passed down anything old from your family?
or
What would you want to pass down to your future generations from what you currently own?
*photographs belong to Bonnie Rose Photography © 2007 – 2013 All Rights Reserved | www.bonnie-rose.co.uk
