It took me hours just to get through the albums. But admittedly, it was the most fun I’ve had in I don’t know how long. You must be wondering which pictures were my favorites. If you are not wondering that, why in the world would you continue to read this blog? Let me start with the few that absolutely stopped me from turning the pages. And they weren’t even pictures. But they were certainly memories and not necessarily mine.
First of all I have in my possession, Fidel Castro Ruz’s carte de visite. (Yes, that’s his whole name. I never knew about the Ruz either - must have been his Mom). But there it is on his business card. Although it’s not his business card because there’s no telephone number or e-mail. He probably doesn’t like getting calls all hours of the night. But then why would he have an embossed card —expensive!. And what exactly IS his business? Dictator? Tyrant? Egomaniac? Are those businesses or personality problems? Who am I to judge? It’s pretty amazing to have old Fidel’s card.
The other card, (and yes the other is also a card), is an invitation for my parents to go to a State Dinner at the Palace of Versailles. With this card, the problem was that neither Milton or Rosie, were in France during the time of the dinner. That didn’t matter to my folks, because the point was to show it to everyone they knew. Mom went so far as to tell people what she was going to wear, if only she had been able to get there. “But you know” she said, “with Milt unable to get around, it would have been much too difficult. Besides, I have been to White House for lunch, and the food was delicious.”
What other goodies were held captive between those plastic folds? There were pictures of Whoopee Goldberg holding Jordan at age 2 at the Women’s Conference in DC. (Sometimes you could back-figure the year based on the perceived age of someone in the picture.) Pictures of one two, or all of us with Joan Baez, Stephen Stills, Mary Travers, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weill, (two of the world’s great song writers), Shari Lewis, Hillary Clinton, Gerry Ferraro, Madeline Albright, Donna Shalala, Tipper and Al Gore, Betty Friedan, David Crosby, Gregory Hines, Jeff MacNelly, and Pat Oliphant (Two of the worlds greatest cartoonists.) These people were friends as well as celebrities — how fortunate we were. Very complete, and the list continues thanks to our work and pleasant personalities. Then, of course , the most important shots are family (parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, kids, pets) and family by choice — people who have been friends for long enough that we all just felt like we were related. Yes, of course kids’ birthday parties. Passover with silly hats (and hardly any Jewish people). New Years parties, Hannukah (celebrated when all the kids could get together as opposed to the actual date), travel, and of course Thanksgiving — we had so much to give thanks for. So many happy memories. The thing is, people usually don’t take pictures of sad occasions. But even without pictures we don’t forget the times when we lost people we loved. Sadly, that list continues to grow. But we still laugh when we look at pictures of the silly things we did with people who are gone. Like when we were in Wisconsin and we went to a nursing graduation dressed as an accident. Too many sillies and “beloveds” to mention. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the holidays at which we reflect, and remember. So it seems appropriate to peruse the photo albums. The pictures and cards make it easier to pray for those who are with us, those who have gone before, and those yet to come. Happy new Year. But why the heck do I have Fidel Castro’s calling card.? We’re just sayin’… Iris
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