Favorite photo memories...

 Is this not a darling photo? This is probably my finest moment, photographically speaking, pre-digital age. Remember back in the olden days when you took photographs, and you didn't know until at least a week later when you picked them up from the developer what you actually ended up with? 

This is my (Great) Aunt Ruth and Uncle Ed.  For all intents and purposes, they filled the role of grandparents for me.  They never had children of their own.  When my dad and I made our summer trips to Nebraska, he would drop me off for at least a few days visit with them.  Aunt Ruth was the one who sat patiently teaching me to embroider and do other handwork.  She gathered rose petals with me from her yard and helped me layer them in a tobacco can with cinnamon...homemade potpourri to take back to Texas with me.  I loved to watch her work in her little kitchen, always remembering what my favorites were and having some on hand for every visit.

Uncle Ed ran her errands, worked in his garden...and sat in his chair or on the porch swing, chewing on an unlit cigar, and teasing in his sweet low-key way whenever the opportunity presented itself.

I took this photo in 1977 or 78.  They would have been married around fifty years then.  They loved each others' company, and they were still playful together.  They were my best example of what a happy marriage could be.  On this day, when I asked them to let me take their picture, they stood side by side, and stared straight faced at the camera.  I asked them to smile, and Aunt Ruth resisted, at which point Uncle Ed, with his arm behind her, gave her a little goose.  In her surprise she gave him a little punch to the belly (you can see him holding her fist), and they both ended up laughing.  I could not have asked for a better photo representation of their personalities.

It's a real treasure.