By 1973 most of the excitement was over. I had learned to roll over, crawl, walk, say words, grow teeth, and eat solid food; I had passed my first birthday, spent two Christmases with my family (although I had only begun to get the gist of the whole thing by the latter one); I had fallen down the stairs, gone on my first outing, camped out, and gone on my first vacation. Yes, the excitement of my baby years was pretty much a thing of the past. So as we rolled into 1973, there wasn’t a lot to photograph – hence the minimal number of photos from the early part of the year.
But there was one activity in which I had come to partake with regularity and that was the practice of running in my undies (and when I say undies, I really mean those bizarre early 70’s plastic diapers) in a circular rotation from room to room – through the family room, into the kitchen, and down the front hallway. This occurance doesn’t lend itself particularly well to photographs, although there are two – and sharing frame blow-ups of the Super 8 film wouldn’t really capture the activity. I was actually chasing or being chased by my parents, but in the film I kept running toward the cameraperson rather than repeating the rotation.
Dragging my little plastic-wrapped fanny from room to room
So that about sums up the fun. There was also quality time in front of the TV, visiting my Grandparents, a nice visit to the Dayton Museum of Natural History, washing dishes, and apparently clipping my own hair to keep me occupied. We also picked up a new member of our family for a brief time when a stray cat made our home his home. (More about the cat may be seen here.)
The warm glow of 70’s TV in our family room. Mom had those slippers for at least fifteen years.
In front of the great orb of the Dayton Museum of Natural History
A young swinger
One of my all-time favorite shots: me helping Mom with the dishes
A visit to Grandma Range’s house. Oscar looks on as I browse Grandma’s purse, possibly for mints
On the ‘real-life’ front, my family was looking to purchase our own house and move out of the house on John Glenn that we were renting from my Grandma Range. Mom still had her job at Connelly and Company, which she had had before I was born. But Dad’s position at Associated Business Aids was terminated when they went out of business in May. His final checks would actually bounce and he would have to take the company to court; the situation wouldn’t be resolved for nearly a year. He quickly secured a new job, which was also short-lived, at Miami Litho.
As the youngest member of our young family, I can’t remember any of the hardships mentioned above, but I’m pretty confident that despite them, we were a pretty happy bunch getting ready to embark on a lifetime of memories.
However, the combination of a new house and running around in my undies would prove to be a combination that would leave permanent scars.
Could someone please confirm that I did in fact cut my own hair? God I hope so.
Next up: a trip to Washington D.C….
That was probably the first & last time you’ve ever busted a sud, huh?
Carolyn Gelm
June 4th, 2008
Too bad your “helpful” ways didn’t last longer! And more than likely, I did the hair cutting. I think it’s pretty good for a kid who most likely wouldn’t sit still!
Mom/Barb
June 4th, 2008
So those weren’t undies you were running around in at the motel room in Waco?
Bob
June 8th, 2008