One of the best parts of these trips to Cleveland and Los Angeles was the ability to see family. (I'm sure my mom is thrilled right now.) In Cleveland, we had enough time to see my grandmother, who recently moved into Menorah Park, and as I mentioned, I had a chance to peruse a box of photos while I was there. From there, we went to my parents' house. My great-uncle recently passed away in Albequerque, NM, and my mother brought back some incredible pictures from his house. Included among them was this one of my grandparents which I had never seen before:
I have never seen pictures of my grandparents from when they were this young before, at least not that I can remember offhand.
Skipping forward a bit... in Los Angeles, the organization I was interviewing for allowed me a nice amount of "free time" to spend with Serach's sister's family. It was great to see their kids, despite (especially because of?) the jumping on and yelling for from the pair of cuties. Here a couple examples of what I went through, including having to avoid getting stomped (and drooled) on by a very excited nephew while simultaneously checking out the artwork of a very loud niece. Bear in mind that I had just spent a weekend in the snow of Cleveland, dancing like crazy at my friend's wedding, then flown back to New York, stayed up through the night to leave at 4:45AM for a 6 o'clock flight to LAX via Atlanta (ugh), and then been in a car in stop n' go traffic in LA for an hour. And just eaten.
It was awesome. :)
They are so cute! You look like you make a great uncle...
ReplyDeleteHow sweet. I'm trying to get the names of my Cleveland relatives. Many years ago my grandfather gave his cousins money to start anew in Cleveland.
ReplyDeleteI'll blog it on me-ander as soon as I get the info, so stay tuned.
Great pictures - especially the one of your grandparents! Old pictures seem to have a depth that new ones just don't. So why don't you write about your own life? And more pressing, did you get to meet Jack?
ReplyDeleteIrina - thanks! Really, kids just like saying the name "Ezzie". :)
ReplyDeleteMuse - That would be cool... my father was born and raised there, so he'd know anyone from the last 50 years or more.
MCAryeh - That's true. Is it just because they show a side of people we've never really seen? Or it's just rare to see those pictures? Or is it something else?
I did NOT get to meet Jack (harumph!). Maybe next time I'll e-mail him and ask him. I did meet another blogger (really commenter) though which was great.
Why don't I blog about my life? I do. I never intended the blog to be about my life, and there are certain things I don't feel like sharing (or my wife would prefer I don't, or others wouldn't want me to). We'll see - I've definitely started to do so more than I used to, but in more of a reflective fashion than anything else.
My cousins used to say that I like to keep people guessing somewhat as to 'what I'm all about'. That's definitely true to an extent, even if it's not on purpose. I was told by a couple of people recently that I have excellent perception: I figure people out not only very quickly, but in a deep fashion. Perhaps I'm just used to not allowing people to do the same to me, even as I'm very open. Interestingly, by selectively being very open, it throws people off as to what you're all about. Like I'm doing right now, I guess. :)
Make sense? You seem to be somewhat similar... maybe it's the red hair. :) I used to be a curly redhead.
Not sure. Maybe it is because the black and white gives it an air of simplicity and history or maybe it is because having known the people in their later years, the pictures take on an added resonance. American Indians used to not want people to take their picture because they thought the camera couls capture their soul. Maybe there is some of that in the old pictures too. Maybe the pictures of today are too slick and produced to capture that...
ReplyDeleteI will be taking a few trips later this year. I have been thinking about whether to meet with certain bloggers then. A part of me likes just knowing people through this venue, and then a part of me would really like to meet them in real life.
Interesting take on being selectively open. It does make sense. I think people do find me hard to figure out sometimes, but I don't think I look to make it hard or keep them guessing. It just sort of happens that way...
My charedi cousin doesn't like being in pictures for the same reason. :) (The rest of his family thinks he's nuts.)
ReplyDeleteSo far, I've rather enjoyed meeting all the bloggers I've met. I'm not sure if I'd want to meet *every* blogger in real life... but I was pretty happy to meet the ones I've met so far. I think it's a bit different in NYC, because there are so many; everyone would lose their anonymity (except me, heh). Most of the ones I've met are located in other cities - it gives everyone that 'out', I guess: 'Well, I'll meet them, see if they're normal - if they're not, it's okay; I'm going home tomorrow.' The one I met in NY I knew was a good friend of a friend of mine, too. That probably was a factor in me having no qualms meeting him.
I don't think I look to make it hard for people to figure me out either by being selectively open: My cousins felt it was a subconscious attempt. Perhaps, in a way, it makes everyone more comfortable: Everyone thinks that I'm 'just like them'. :)