Sepia Saturday presents its challenges, to be
sure.
We’re often scurrying, scrambling for shots that qualify for the week’s
call for submissions – and this week was no exception: “blurred, scratched,
undefined, and plain boring...less than perfect.”
So here it is...and it certainly qualifies!
This is me.
Really.
This is me in the late 1960s: a long-haired
hippy, young and lean and blonde and quite possibly a little stoned, but...it’s
definitely me, upside down – just about to do a headstand on the front lawn at
the farm.
It was probably on a Sunday afternoon when we
all had a few hours of free time: after morning chores and Sunday meeting,
after dinner and dishes but before evening chores began at 4:00 or so.
I had been playing my guitar (you
can see an open capo in the grass beneath me), wearing my favorite shirt – one of
those open-collar shirts from India that were so popular back then; gray and
maroon stripes, shapeless. It fell below my hip and was incredibly comfortable;
a remnant of my Cambridge
I’m no more than 23 years old – that alone is
astonishing to me.
And, my goodness, look at all that hair!
For some reason, I’ve saved this photo for
nearly 45 years; a split second of time in my life captured on 35mm black and
white film. I’m not the same person I was back then, of course, but I like to
think that moment is part of me forever, that I’ve carried it within me for all
these years.
Whenever I look at it, I smile; I guess that’s
reason enough.
Aw....those were the days for sure. I liked that era, I was in my mid teens, I also liked the comfort of the clothes worn back then. Your photo made me smile too!!
ReplyDeleteIt was a great time, wasn't it? I suppose everybody says that about their own generational "era," but I think it's true! Nice to see your name in my comment section, Rosie -- hope you're having as beautiful weather as we are!
DeleteGreat picture!!
ReplyDeleteYou wouldn't be who you are now
if you hadn't been that person back then.
Part of your personal evolution.
While I am critical of certain periods of my life,
I wouldn't be who I am today without them;
and I like who I am now.
:)~
HUGZ
I'm with you, my TB -- 100%! All those parts add up to our wholes, and I wouldn't discard any of them!
DeleteIt's strange how a photo can be such a blur, yet the memory associated with it can be so clear -- and I love your sharing of the memories. I think it's interesting that someone chose to photograph you about to do a headstand, and that it's a close-up!
ReplyDeleteAhhh -- he was a special guy in my life; we are still, after all these years (and a horrific break-up), best of friends!
DeleteSo evocative. I can understand why you would keep it. I love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alex -- glad you like it. I keep thinking that, should I try that headstand now, I'd probably be grateful for Medicare...
DeleteWe gotta be who we have to be, and this really looks perfect for our blurry theme, and what a fun time you must have had!
ReplyDeleteYes...and there was this song, too: "I gotta be me, I gotta be me..." etc. It was a fun time, but the here and now is also fun!
DeleteThe sixties were a wonderful time for so many reasons. There won't be another decade like them for a very long time. And I'll never apologize for my flowered bell-bottoms, fringe, leather, & headbands! They weren't exactly practical nor even comfortable all the time, but gosh, they were fun!
ReplyDeleteWonderful and, you have to admit, pretty dreadful, too -- what with Vietnam and Civil Rights, etc. Exciting, important; we changed things, didn't we, headbands notwithstanding!
DeleteI'll bet there is still a little something of that girl in you! Great shot!
ReplyDeleteOh, yes! I'm not sure I could still do it, but the thoughts are still there! I just can't take myself too seriously, especially as I get older...and older...and older!
DeleteI must admit I had trouble working the parts of you out, except that arm in a striped shirt but you told the story behind the photograph so beautifully. Lovely to read your memories of the time.
ReplyDeleteI know, Sue. My body parts seem totally out of whack (and they are), but once you get the basic position, it all becomes clear. I think the next step is to get your knees up onto your elbows...does anybody remember how to do this?
DeleteAmazing that you can remember the colour of that shirt Deb:)
ReplyDeleteI absolutely loved that shirt -- wore it until it disintegrated, I think; the colors are imprinted in my mind. No color shots, though -- that was when it was still cool to use black and white!
DeleteThe story explains why this photo is worth preserving. Now I wonder what stories are behind the bad photos passed down to me.
ReplyDeleteThey all have stories, don't they? This picture just reminds me so much of when we were young, a little foolish and terribly in love; we both still smile over it...
DeleteYes it made me smile too............even before I read the text, which made me smile even more.
ReplyDeleteWas it because I said I was probably a little bit stoned? Remember...that was during the summers of love, back in the 60s!
DeleteI lived through the sixties vicariously, through my older sister (born in 1950). That shot evokes images for me, too. Thanks for the memories, as Bob Hope used to sing.
ReplyDeleteVicariously (or not), the 60s were pretty amazing...glad you found something there in that image. I'm sending good thoughts to your sister, too, who's only about 4 years younger than I am!
ReplyDelete