Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Hot August Day

I seem to have forgotten to mention here that my father's birthday was last week--8-8 to be exact! Since he was born in 1917, this was his 91st.


He's still going strong! I haven't been back East to see him recently, but my brother keeps me updated.

So I'm sharing this photo of him with his first child (me) back when I was about Audrey's age.

And, since we do want equal time, here's one of my mother and I. She had these taken to send to my dad while he was overseas during WWII. He was in England for a year, then in France for two years. Since he's French/English bilingual, he was in great demand as a translator over there.

Funny thing, when the place was overrun with American GIs, no one minded if the one who spoke French did so with a strange American/Canuck accent!



He and his brothers all enlisted, and all four of them came home, which was rather amazing considering.

Dad was a pretty good ballplayer before the war, and after the guys came home, they reorganized the teams and played quite a bit. One of my childhood memories is of going to the playground to watch the Aldenville A's play.

They even went to the national championships (Four-A) in Youngstown, Ohio, three or four times, and won the national title at least once.

So, on this hot August night, I'm sitting here thinking of my dad, and how his athletic ability (which totally skipped me!) got passed down to my kids, and on down to the grandkids.

3 comments:

Ellen Bloom said...

Sweet photos, Marie. I LOVE that huge bow in your hair!

My Uncle Mort turns 91 next week! That generation is tough. His mind is as sharp as ever, he just has a bit of trouble moving around.

Happy B-Day to all from the "greatest generation."

mary said...

I love the vintage photos of you as a babe with your mum and dad. Thanks for sharing those wonderful memories of your dad. Happy belated bday, dad!

Annette said...

Great photos Marie. You were sooo cute! Good memories. I hope your dad had a nice b-day and a good year ahead.