Dad and Glade Uptown

Pouring over Altman Family photos with my grandmother was one of my favorite past times. Gram had a few very old albums which were organized accurately by event or year, but the majority of the picture books had no rhyme or reason to them, and many snapshots were tossed into boxes with other ephemera. For example, a picture of her grandfather and perhaps her elementary school graduation program would be in the same box as a Polaroid of my cousins from the 1970's and a light bill from the 1980's. Frustrating as it was, the lack of organization made sense considering Grama had ten children and those children had children--like me--and we'd all been looking through and messing up the photographs for fifty years.

One time when I was visiting from college, I made a stab at putting the pictures in some kind of order. With Grama at my side, I'd pull a photo from the box, flip it over, and if it was blank and I couldn't identify the person, I'd ask, "Ok. Who's this?" and so on. I didn't recognize the two dudes in the photo below. Grama said, "Oh, that's Dad and Glade uptown."

"Dad" referring to her husband (my Grandfather), and Glade referring to his uncle Glade Merryman (so close in age, they were more like cousins). Suspicious, I looked at the picture again. Neither of these dudes is Grampa nor Uncle Glade. Not even close. Not on a good day, a bad day, a snowy day, there isn't a trace of a resemblance nor a chance in hell. Thus, I found her answer hilarious, and it quickly became a little family joke. Even though we don't know who the Dad and Glade doppelgangers are or where they're standing, it's still a great photo and always makes me laugh.

Without further ado, please enjoy "Dad and Glade Uptown" knowing that the only accurate part of the title most likely is the uptown part; I'd have to have an Olean native confirm that.

"Dad and Glade Uptown" ~ Olean, New York ~ Circa 1950's

For Da Da Da

Courtesy of YouTube's now1000: 

"Elkhart Lake (Road America) 1957 and Rockford Ill Hill climb. 16 mm footage shot by my father who was an amateur sports car driver in the 50's. The first part is the hill climb. Dad is in the white 1949 MG TC at the hill climb"

They Don't Make Chic Couples Like This Anymore

Aunt Ann and Uncle John

Late 1950's

For Dad

Onalaska, Wisconsin, early 1950s. Full service, baby.

from shorpy.com

The Hastings Hotel in Hollywood

I'm here all week. Paying by the hour.

Real or Fake: What Kind of Christmas Tree Family Are You?

I witnessed a conversation between some newlywed friends of mine who were discussing the fake tree they ordered in the mail for their first Christmas together as a married couple. "Oh, you're a fake tree type of people?" I asked. I come from a real tree family. (Real tree or no tree, in my opinion. Unless it's small and super over the top tacky and fake like the aluminum ones they look at before settling on the lil' sad sack real tree on A Charlie Brown Christmas. Fake trees trying to look real are terrible. I hate fake plants. But I digress...)

"No, just this time, with the tiny New York City apartment. We'll be a real tree family," said the wife.

"What?" interjected the husband. "What about my parents' massive fake tree? You love that tree!"

"But we always had a real tree growing up," said the wife.

"Wow. I never realized it but we haven't discussed what type of family we're going to be. Real or fake?" asked the husband.

Apparently, after some discussion, they decided on becoming a real tree family.

Fantastic.

Elkhart, Indiana

Elkhart, Indiana, 1950's

Boys Beware

Homosexuals may appear normal.

1950's Brunswick Bowling Bench

For sale on eBay.

Or blowing bench, depending on how fast you roll.