Family Photo Horrors

[Red Sky]

A few months ago in one of Bilz challenges on flags I posted a photo I dug up taken when I was a cub scout, saluting the flag with my siblings. Some may remember it and I hope the Pixentral link has expired so it can't be drawn up. Anyway, I found another photo today(I found the location, I always knew the picture existed) that in some ways is worse, if you can believe it, and this had to do with my mother yet again posing me with a new birthday present when I was eight. I'll post it if I can get some support from others, that means showing what makes you cringe out of your family album. Anyone interested in working to erase the trauma our parent's 126 Instamatics caused?

[Ellen]

How about 1962 confirmation dress complete with mesh hat like thing on scrawny 10 year old? My brothers used it to blackmail me once.

[Wendy]

Steven ...

My family album is packed full of them ... I really can't say which one I hate the most. Its far too embarassing :eek:

Wendy

[NMarti]

Steven
It wasn't my parents that tortured me - I have 7 brothers!:eek: They liked to grab mom's camera at THE most embarrasing moments. My favorite silly one was my confirmation where my mother insisted on a beehive hairdo for the event (on a 13 year old) and my grandpa was making kissing noises in my ear to make me laugh when my brother snapped it. Silly but I loved my grandpa dearly and it was embarassing at the time but I cherish it now that he is gone. Most embarassing - I won't even go there - it will go to my grave.:eek:

[bwolford]

Let's see, college, post party binge, 4AM, wrapped around a porcelan throne in the 5th floor dorm bathroom. Slipped under a door 2 weeks later with a note saying "You'll never survive in politics! We have you..." Nothing embarassing in my photographic past.

Brice

[Wendy]

Brice ...

:eek: :eek: ... :D :D

Wendy

[Red Sky]

I'm kind of bummed this thread never took off. It's not because I started it but I thought it would have been cool to see some funny pictures of member's youth. Oh well, maybe another time.

[kayser]

Steven, I somehow missed this thread the first time, so maybe others did too. I don't actually have any embarrassing photos that come to mind, so I don't have anything to share, but I'd certainly enjoying seeing everyone else's!:D

[Wendy]

I'll look out the album tomorrow (its now gone midnight here in the UK) and see if there is one I could post :)

Wendy

[NMarti]

Hey Brice - this one is for you! After your post I immediately thought of you when I saw this in an email today.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1A52uiU2azeqpH9F28amEy7jcu1e_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1A52uiU2azeqpH9F28amEy7jcu1e)

[Wendy]

Oh that is so funny !!! :)

Wendy

[Robyn]

Steven,

I think that why this thread hasn't taken off is perhaps the title. I've just looked at it........the title suggested to me an old family photo that needed fixing. A title along the lines of........'Any embarrassing old family photos??' may have grabbed the attention a bit more. What do you think?

[cathy]

omg, been there, done that. whew no more :)

[Ellen]

Steven,
Robyn is likely to be right or maybe it's a matter of who goes first. :D You show us yours perhaps?

[mom to 4]

oh, I know there are lots of embarrassing ones of me, only not in my albums! It could be that one from my sisteres wedding in the 60's when I was 13 wearing a little pill box hat and that awful dress that was a hand me down from who knows!!! Or any one from the early 70's with that really long hair and those polyester dresses!!!!! Ok, I'll dig one up!!!!

I want to see that one of Brice!!!! BRICE, Brice,BRICE!!!!

[Robyn]

I'd be happy to post if I can find anything. I have very few early images..........but I'm off to search! I'm more likely to find a more recent 'embarrassment'. :D

And Colleen, yes..........let's pick on Brice.

BRICE BRICE BRICE

[Robyn]

Okay I'll be first...........this is all I could find...............this beautiful bathing beauty is me, probably around 1949.! :eek: I think the bathing 'costume' was woollen with two thin straps to hold up the bottom half - so much for modesty!

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1hCUhRgWKcDxGj3JrZMU1L3csP4D1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1hCUhRgWKcDxGj3JrZMU1L3csP4D1)

[Red Sky]

Thank you Robyn for starting this. You are helping me to restore faith. By the way, did your picture ever cause you embarassment? It looks normal to me, unlike this one of me .
I turned 8 this day, and had expressed an interest to my mother earlier that I would like to learn how to cook. I think I wanted to make my own grilled cheese or something. Anyway, this garb I got for my birthday, plus the cookbook, and then I had to do a "natural pose" like chefs do, and look at my imaginary creation in the oven. It took a long while before shame turned to laughter. I imagine my dad was thinking like Hank Hill and "that kid ain't right." I like the plastic vegetables hanging on the wall.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/13w1ONBQ1MDGfQnp73Xm3rnUnCXYw8_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=13w1ONBQ1MDGfQnp73Xm3rnUnCXYw8)

[Ellen]

Robyn and Steven ,
Those are cute and thanks Robyn for yet again being so wonderful.
THIS is a horror.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1QdPWHQFhI56zP7a5Z6LEuxPcw5J1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1QdPWHQFhI56zP7a5Z6LEuxPcw5J1)

[kayser]

Steven- that is a hoot! (sorry, i can't help it.)

Ellen- what was the occasion?

I'll try to find a picture to share.

[bwolford]

Well the picture of that person I mentioned :rolleyes: is even better because it's of me AFTER he used the device. Laying flat on his back with his legs wrapped around the throne. Arms sprawled in ever direction, sound asleep.

Unfortunately, the picture was destroyed, but if the negative was saved someone's political career is ruined. :D No saying who...

Brice
P.S. It is nice being popular around here, even if it is for the wrong reason.

[Ellen]

Let's see more !
Kay - That was for confirmation, and another reason I am lapsed.

[Robyn]

Good one Ellen!

Steven, what a shot!......you poor boy!

I don't remember my photo being taken, but I do remember being teased about that outfit. I was going to submit my one and only wedding photo........ now that is an embarrassment. Come to think about it my whole wedding was. After we were married we didn't have any 'reception' we drove to our favourite hamburger shop and order a "cheese and onion" hamburger!:cool:

I'm finding this thread really interesting......come on everyone, let's see your pics.

[NMarti]

Ok - I'll play. This was taken about 20 years ago. It is some of my brothers and me. (There are 7 brothers and 1 sister besides me). I have been tempted over the years to create a wanted poster as my mom has always referred to this as the "James Gang Photo" because of our poses. (For those of you not familiar with American history the James Gang was a family of outlaws in the old west)

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1scYxU0ERalAz5TXX9DdDlHHW9Hm_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1scYxU0ERalAz5TXX9DdDlHHW9Hm)

[jazzfisher]

Nancy ---what a happy family!!!!

Okay,okay was it better when your Mom picked your hairstyle for your school pics or when you were a teen & picked your own (also this is the same outfit I wore when I saw the Beatles........
http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1ondLOV2ijwdZRuRIdXWOEOsL6cirS_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1ondLOV2ijwdZRuRIdXWOEOsL6cirS)


http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/19lVQo9cPOrJf0dThlxyBh94KIG9c0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=19lVQo9cPOrJf0dThlxyBh94KIG9c0)

[Robyn]

Oh Sherry........what great hairstyles!:D

[Wendy]

Oh my goodness ... I have spent the last 10 minutes laughing my socks off !!!

they are just brilliant ...

Robyn ... oh my that bathing suit brought back memories. It they got wet then they stretched in every direction :)

Red ... Oh that is sweet ... do hope that you kept up the cookery

Ellen ... I have photos just like that. My parents took then every year on Walking Day ... not sure how to explain that one so here is a link:

http://www.shef.ac.uk/nfa/history/worlds_fair/articles/warrington.php

Nancy ... Oh that is brilliant. Do turn it into a poster !!

Sherry ... Oh I love the hair ... Oh dear they are so funny.


Wendy

[Wendy]

OK Here is mine ...

Robyn my bathing costume had a top ... but I don't think I was too happy at posing:

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/14mY0NET5fQokHrLhEfci0hkXmNNJ_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=14mY0NET5fQokHrLhEfci0hkXmNNJ)

I do have another one but I am trying to summon up the courage to post it :)

Wendy

[bwolford]

Wendy, I've seen that photo before and I still love it.

Brice

[Robyn]

Go on Wendy.......post the other one!

Your bathing costume looks about the same vintage as mine.:D

[NMarti]

Come on Wendy - give it a go. I have several of that style with the little "sunsuit" as they were called. On one I'm sitting on a toy tractor sticking my tongue out. I'll have to see if I can find it.

Sherry - Great hair!:rolleyes: Right up there with the beehive's my mom used to make me get.

Robyn - so cute!

Steven - my sympathies.:D Hey - it's really cute and very "Ozzie & Harriett" looking. Fortunately my mom was not much for taking pictures but always had a camera. She would take them and could not afford to get them developed so a lot of my baby pictures are actually dated 3 years after I was born.

Ellen - Yeah - I have a couple of those - no veil - but hair, dress etc.

[Wendy]

Oh Nancy ...

In the other photo I was wearing a little sunsuit but then I ran into the sea and got wet.

You can tell from my face that I was not impressed by my Father snapping me :eek:

Umm ... I go have a coffee and think about posting it :o

Wendy

[Norm F]

Awesome thread! This is pretty funny stuff.

Nancy, I see nothing strange about this photo other than the weird looking guys you're with. I think you were looking pretty good.

Sherry, whoa!!

Wendy, I wonder why more parents don't take photos of their little girls hanging out of windows? :rolleyes: It's kind of a cool effect.

Thanks everyone. This one has brightened my day. Hopefully Steven's childhood wounds are beginning to heal as he learns that everyone has a few strange shots to share from their childhood.

[Wendy]

Come on Norm ... dig out your old photos :)

You must have at least one horror photo :eek:

Wendy

[jazzfisher]

Norm,
Remember they said "horror" so that's what those "do's" are!!!:eek:

[Norm F]

Come on Norm ... dig out your old photos :)

You must have at least one horror photo :eek:

Wendy

I look downright adorable in most of the stuff that I have but I'll do some digging this weekend and see if I can find something that makes me look ridiculous. :D

[Byron Gale]

All of you people who are embarrassed by what you were wearing -- you've got nothing to complain about!!

LOOK what my mom did to ME!! (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1SUsABV3Nz2XoEyVxXrrIdtI7zatCe1)

(It is so hideous, I won't even post a thumbnail...)

[jazzfisher]

Byron,
A look only a Mother could love......Sorry Byron......:p

[NMarti]

Byron
No wonder your hair stands on end!:D :D
Just kidding ya. It's not so bad - I'll bet she thought it was adorable when she took it. My kids will never forgive me for some I've taken and I thought they were cute.:rolleyes: What do think that adorable little angel in your gallery will think in about 15 years when the boyfriend shows up and you pull that one out?;)

[Wendy]

Byron ...

Did you ever forgive her :eek:

Wendy

[Byron Gale]

...the saddest part of it all... I have that exact body shape, today!! (Just a different scale, and with the hair rearranged) :o

[Wendy]

Byron ...

Oh now that really needed a coffee warning :)

Wendy

[Wendy]

Like Byron I am not going to post a thumbnail ...

just put your coffee down before you view it ... how could parents be this cruel :eek:

http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1egzMsgfGU2TLmTcDrX3HQ6KTLodD1

Wendy

[Red Sky]

Thanks everyone for making me feel better. Norm is on to something about the healing of some childhood wounds; maybe not healed but feeling less battered. I enjoy the sights and styles you have sent in.
Now, this photo shows my siblings and me at our worst angst. This was for a Holiday card in 1976 and we were all miserable to have to pose for it. I decided to wear my Led Zeppelin shirt to show all my relatives how cool I was. I remember thinking my sister was a dork (I haven't used that word in awhile!) for wearing her Elton John shirt. Yes, I understood the concept of hypocrisy and no, I didn't think it applied to me.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1rINPtlmiUMmKVM7jrTCUlR89EQ_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1rINPtlmiUMmKVM7jrTCUlR89EQ)

[Byron Gale]

Oh Wendy!! All you need is a little dog tugging at them from behind !!

[Red Sky]

All right Wendy! It looks like someone applied the smudge tool to a certain area. You're not censoring this are you?

BTW, where was this taken?

[jazzfisher]

Wendy,
You can see it in the look on your face!:eek:

Steven---teen angst at it's best......

[NMarti]

Wendy!:eek: :eek: What did you do in those shorts?:D :D

[Wendy]

Nancy ...

I didn't do anything :eek: ... I just ran into the sea fully dressed and they took all my clothes off because they were wet :o

... as if that wasn't bad enough they photographed it :eek:

Wendy

[Wendy]

Steven ...

It was taken at Blackpool ... :)

Wendy

[Red Sky]

Wendy- Blackpool was one of the best places in all of the UK I have visited. We had a lot of fun there. We missed out on the Illuminations but it was nice to see where so many of the British people take holiday. It was more memorable to me than say, The Tower. I learned what mushy peas were, felt snow in May, and took a tram ride that never stopped, or so it seemed.

[Wendy]

Hi Steven ...

I haven't been to Blackpool for many years but we have just booked a trip to go to the illuminations in October ...

My home used to be about 30 miles from there .... :)

Wendy

[virgo1]

Oh Wendy... That is priceless. All the photos are in a twisted way. Here's mine, I'm the middle one.:D

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1fPMqc8QGp4R4VxJzdPlWdurA5tu4W0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1fPMqc8QGp4R4VxJzdPlWdurA5tu4W0)

Eva;)

[bwolford]

Wendy, This forum has a no nudity clause!!!! Brice

[Ellen]

This is too fun - thanks again Steven for starting it. So do you cook now? Was there a caption on the Christmas photo?
Robyn - do youi remember if that amazing suit got wet?
Sherry - that is indeed amazing hair- did either do need a product?
Wendy- Is that a UK thing to put children in windows? Is that why you are a Mac fan? Thanks for the history of walking day - I guess Sunday School could be a good thing. Yipes! - just saw your second - good thing for your parents that the nanny state is a new thing.
Nancy- You should indeed make the poster. With that many sibs there must be one you can get to.
Byron- Your Mom loves you and your outie belly button- be glad.
Eva- That's sweet not a horror.

[Red Sky]

Ellen- I really don't cook anymore. I did through college but I have developed so many hobbies and interests I just don't want to spend time in the kitchen. If left up to me I would eat cereal for dinner and that would be fine. I like well prepared food but not enough to do it.
In the picture of you in the confirmation dress, are you happy, sad or confused? It's hard to get a read on your emotion when the shutter snapped. And have you been in Washington all your life? You know, as the crow flies, or in this case the gull, we live less than 50 miles apart. In the global forum that is next door.

[Ellen]

Steven,
I think I was wanting out of this itchy silly outfit. That shot was in Chicago where I grew up. Here I am still bad at wearing dresses after 30+ years in one of the most beautiful places on earth. We are close by but I haven't been to B'ham in ages. I love this wet June, there's still a snowy owl near by that must have flown by you on it's way down south.

[NYBOB1]

Zeppelin ROCKS! saw them 5 times. Don't have a shirt to show it. SORRY!

Bob

[jazzfisher]

Eva,
I swear I had the same hat.... if I can find it I will post it!

Hair prodcuut --in first photo I'm sure mu Mom used a Toni perm.
Second photo---just some Aquanet hair spray, I'm sure.......

[jazzfisher]

Bob,
If you remember it---you weren't really there......:D

[Wendy]

Eva ...

Awww you look cute :)

Wendy

[Red Sky]

You know, I personally could rest, and be satisfied with the way this thread went, if Nancy will post the picture she will take to the grave with her. That's my only request now. Nancy?

[NMarti]

Ummmm...... well......I'll have to think about that one.:o

[jazzfisher]

Come on Nancy, I put myself out there--like a fool..... Fools love company;)

[Wendy]

Nancy ...

It just can't be worse than the one I posted ... can it :eek:

Wendy

[NMarti]

Wendy
I don't know about worse but embarassing - yes.

[jazzfisher]

Nancy,
Do you have clothes on in it?

[Wendy]

Sherry ..


:eek: :eek:

Wendy

[jazzfisher]

Wendy,
Just wanted to make sure it was "decent"!!!:p

[NMarti]

Sherry:D
I do but my sister's bare - um - butt shows a little. It's the clothes I have on that are so embarassing.

[jazzfisher]

Hey,
The face I had on was embarrassing.......
So your sister's butt hits the internet waves--who cares????:D

[Wendy]

Sherry ...

Nancy's Sister ...:eek:

Wendy

[Red Sky]

Nancy- Were you and your company down at Laurie's Place, perhaps fueled by a bit of potent liquid, and caught in some sort of compromising situation? We all tend to have creative minds here so if we can't see the picture we will have to create it with the mind's eye. And that is probably worse than what it is.

[jazzfisher]

Nancy,
Does it involve a bathroom or a toilet????:confused:

[NMarti]

Sherry
Involves a bathroom, lotion and really tacky Daisy Dukes. It was about 30 years ago.

[SCRAPPYGIRL]

This is my sister and I at the Baltimore Zoo. I'm the one in the plaid dress.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/15IqZL2tD7M5N5X4Ydk7rjtCeqqZSC0_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=15IqZL2tD7M5N5X4Ydk7rjtCeqqZSC0)

[Wendy]

Carol ...

Oh that one is just cute :)

Wendy

[tfry]

The things parents do to their children.....:)

[SCRAPPYGIRL]

A little aside to that zoo photo. The dresses we were in were made by our grandmother. Until we were in high school, every peice of clothing on our backs was homemade. This also included our 3 other sisters (I'm the middle of the 5). Once we got to high school and had part time jobs we started sneaking out and buying some more "modern" clothes.

Every week, my mother would wash and starch those dresses on Monday and she spent the intire day Tuesday ironing then. My dad put up a pole in that ran the intire length of our basement and by Tuesday night it was full of those infernal dresses - never slacks in those days. Also, when we were very little, we were changed twice a day.

Thank God for permanent press, I never ironed anything for my poor kids.

[Wendy]

Carol ... What a wonderful story ... :)

Nancy ... I didn't know what you meant by "Daisy Dukes" so I did a quick google. :eek: :eek:

Wendy

[GaryK]

Nancy

I didn't think there was such a thing as tacky Daisy Dukes?? :D :D

[NMarti]

Gary
In the 70's everything was tacky - well not then - but now:rolleyes: :D

[Red Sky]

Nancy- If you don't want to post the picture here, how about sending it to Grant for a challenge? It sounds like there are possibilities.:twisted:

[NMarti]

Oh Steven you are wicked. :D Boy - you have a good memory too. I had to think about Laurie's place a second. ;)

Wendy - yes they were a fad here in the US resulting from the TV show Dukes of Hazzard. I don't think the term existed when the picture was taken but it has become so ingrained in our culture that every pair of short shorts is referred to that way. It all came back with the movie last year that was made from the TV show. Believe me - I was no Jessica Simpson in them either.

Okay Steven - I'll give it to you but remember - it was 30 years ago (and 30+ pounds ago) At that time the outfit was in style - promise! I had taken a shower and my sister needed to go to the bathroom and my brother was waiting with the camera - thought he was going to catch something even worse I guess. Come to think of it - looks more like I was shaving my legs - hmm - don't recall now for sure. With 9 kids and 1 bathroom - the bathroom did not guarantee privacy in our house.:rolleyes:
http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1dBmNeX8zTNZ4PMi1x84aE2QQVS53o

[jazzfisher]

Nancy,
I believe the term we used at the time was "hot pants" wasn't it?
Now I would usually shave my legs before putting on my cute little outfit----:confused:
Carol,
I understand about the plaid dresses--but that wasn't a horror photo!!!

[Red Sky]

Thank you Nancy. I can now rest and I have come to terms with all my issues stemming from my family and their cameras!
The photo you showed somehow wasn't as bad as the one I envisioned so I will make that my latest issue. I think it was so funny that Wendy had to Google "Daisy Dukes." It shows that some of our cultural garbage stays confined, kind of like Peeps. Hopefully she had her preferences set to "Do Not Filter My Results" so she got the real McCoy.
Thanks for sharing. I now have to go out and work in the garden.

[NMarti]

Sherry
That's it! I couldn't remember the term. Hot pants! Yeah - most people would but we were only allowed 10 minutes bathroom time so you had to bathe quick and then get presentable for those needing access.:rolleyes: Either that or I looked down after getting dressed and went OMG!!!:D

Steven
I'm so glad my humiliating photo made you feel better. Any time I can help...:D

[jazzfisher]

Nancy,
The problem was trying to get out of the house, with the shortest hot pants possible & not get in trouble & have to change into "longer" ones!!!:D

[NMarti]

Sherry
I guess after this I can't tell my girls "I'd have been grounded for a month if I tried to leave the house looking like that":D

[jazzfisher]

Nancy,
As things change, everything remains the same....from one generation to the next it's just different "hot pants" for each generation.;)

[Norm F]

When I googled "daisy dukes" I got a link to some porn stars website. I've been back to this thread every five minutes since. :D Very cute Nancy. It must have been a real challenge getting a little privacy in that house.

[jazzfisher]

Norm,
I'm surprised you came back here at all!!!:D :eek: :D

[virgo1]

Sherry and Nancy,
We also called them short shorts. Remember the pop song (I like to date myself) "Who Wear's Short Shorts"? I liked my short skort.:D
Eva;)

[jazzfisher]

Eva,
Unfortunately I also remember that song.....:cool: :D

[NMarti]

Eva
Yes I do - they later used it in a Nair commercial.

Norm
Oh no - I wonder what Wendy got?:eek: :eek: Try Dukes of Hazzard and then look for Jessica Simpson. She's wearing them.

[WingAnimal]

I'm laughing wayyyy too hard!! Okay, I'm looking for a photo to submit. I'll see what I can find. I think what most people find embarassing are considered fine art in my home. :D Okay, maybe not. Maybe I'll find something to add by tomorrow. Stay tuned.

[Wendy]

I got the porn site ... :eek:

Phew ... now I know what you really mean't :D :D

Oh Nancy the photo is just great .. its just so funny !!!

Do you know we could issue this thread in book form and I am sure that it would be a great sucess :)

Wendy

[NMarti]

Wendy - wow what you guys must have imagined. Good thing I did post it.:eek: Here is the original Daisy Duke from the TV show and where the name came from - regarding her shorts.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/10eawCLUjdwDPRhUd7QpPzzUW4m1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=10eawCLUjdwDPRhUd7QpPzzUW4m1)

[Wendy]

Nancy ...

Its amazing how things don't translate from country to country ... thanks for the link :)

Wendy

[billz]

I've been lurking and laughing for a few days, so I imagine the penalty is participation.

The story behind this one is that even my mom was appalled by my stupid hat and she was trying to feed me to some reindeer. Not very nice.:(

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1kZVEFfetsnjPu7zEteDeeRVyIqI2v_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1kZVEFfetsnjPu7zEteDeeRVyIqI2v)

Fun shots and stories everybody ... sounds like quite a few of us were separated at birth.

Bill

[Wendy]

Hi Bill ...

Aww I am sure she wasn't really trying to do that ... Ummm or maybe the reindeer took one look at the hat and said No Way !! :)

Wendy

[NMarti]

Wendy
:D :D

[Galiano]

I have never laughed so hard reading a thread! Absolutely inspired!

Apparently, wool bathing suits - itchy, often smelly, heavy when wet, and wet forever - were the norm whether you were in Australia or England or Canada.

It is not that the photos were taken - but that they were kept!

Obviously I needed my tongue stuck out to make my legs work. And that suit did have a top to it although it is hardly visible.

http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1PuP9Qj9RxjXRxrqEUKNpPVcnl1A

Thanks all for so much fun.

Cheers,
Helen

[NMarti]

Helen
That is priceless! I love it! Yeah - can't imagine why we all kept them - I know in my case it was proof I really did used to be skinny!:D

[crljean]

Oh, that's adorable! As I remember, these wool things were sometimes called "soakers." I think they were the precursors to rubber pants in some cases.

[crljean]

This picture isn't a "keeper" in any way, shape or form! I knocked out my front teeth at the age of 13 months in a fall down the stairs so I was toothless until I was nine. I don't know what's with the probably red socks! Geesh!

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1PLkxStsi5RJ2PFDsSU8zaFIxmykK1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1PLkxStsi5RJ2PFDsSU8zaFIxmykK1)

[Wendy]

Helen ... Oh that is priceless, just so funny.

Jean ... Toothless until you were nine. Oh you poor thing !! :)

Wendy

[Galiano]

Carol: Another great family photo! Poor thing - no teeth.

And you are right. Those pants were called "soakers". My dear grandmother knit many of them for the three of us. What was worse was that as I got older, she knit me ones called "woollies" that I wore under my skirt for warmth going to school in cold Winnipeg winters. The navy blue ones were bearable. However, the flesh-coloured ones were appallingly embarrassing! You always prayed that the elastic would not give up the ghost.

Cheers,
Helen

[Wendy]

Oh Helen your last message really needed a coffee warning ...

Please pass the tissues and I will clean my monitor :)

Wendy

[Red Sky]

Flesh colored "woollies?" Now that's a horror.

This photo I found last night should have been a horror, but it never bothered me, probably because I was surrounded by a bunch of beauties. My sister, without the Elton John shirt, is on my left. This was taken in the mid 60's and James Bond was all the rage. See any similarities? Now the 8mm movies of my dance recitals are a horror and I still cringe on how I could miss my cues and blow a heel, toe, shuffle, step.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1PXNo1CH9n8bcCENBusFcMVy2uipy31_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1PXNo1CH9n8bcCENBusFcMVy2uipy31)

[jazzfisher]

Steven,
That's soooooooo cute!!!
I had a pixie cut too (one of my many do's)

[NMarti]

Sherry
Same here. Hated it though.

Steven
See - you are not alone. You should now have a restful sleep knowing your parents were just like everyones when snapping photos. They were not really picking on you.:p

[Wendy]

Steven ...

Aww you look cute :)

Wendy

[WingAnimal]

Okay, my turn. Now that I found this picture, I very clearly remember why I stopped combing my hair this way and why I don't wear sweaters. That's my cute sister with me.

http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1ymCewcTVHygeC7dEMjPGR4so7Iscp

[Robyn]

Norm.....don't be modest.......I think you look kinda cute!:D

[jazzfisher]

But Nancy, Pixie was one of my best do"s ---see the spit on the side curl?



http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1qpOr0MCGVP82uhF0wBQLGL0HRG1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1qpOr0MCGVP82uhF0wBQLGL0HRG1)

Norm, I would have gone for ya at that age!!!

Also notice the plaid 3 for $10 dress......

[WingAnimal]

Okay... I thought I'd post this for the "cute" category. I was born on Midway Island where the Gooney Birds rule. This is me with a baby Gooney Bird. The birds grow to have a wing span of 4-5 feet. I guess I used to hold the baby birds in my lap and pet them. This one was a little bit large for that and was showing a bit of an attitude. I just wanted to play with it.

http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1UHJForsiyYBSFq85BxLjh4lu32gS

[WingAnimal]

By the way... I'm having problems posting the thumbnails, so if anyone can tell me what I'm doing wrong.... Aren't we just suppose to copy what is in the "Forum" box in Pixentral and past that into the "Insert Image" spot here? (We do replace the "http://"... correct??) When I do all that, I get a broken link. Am I missing something or doing it wrong?

[mom to 4]

All of these pictures are just so cute. I love eveyone! What great memories they must evoke for everyone!!! I have to start looking at what I have.........I know there must be at least one I could share!!!!!:o :D

[WingAnimal]

Colleen... "evoke memories"... yes, they do... and now I must go back to therapy three times a week. :D Just kidding. Actually, I had emailed my dad to have him send me some pics and he sent me about 10... and they really did evoke some memories. I think tonight will be story time with the family since they haven't seen these pictures yet. There's the one of me and my sis in our scouting outfits, and the one of us in our batman and robin costumes that my aunt made, and the one of us locked up in some old jail in Arizona (no wonder I never travel back through that state). And one that is probably the most precious for me... a picture of me with my favorite dog of all time. I didn't know any pictures existed. She was the best dog in the world and no one can convince me otherwise. I'll be cleaning that one up and printing it. So much to do... so little time.

[jazzfisher]

Norm,
You don't need to do anything to it ---the thumbnail link.

Gooney Birds---very cool!

[mom to 4]

Norm:

I'm sorry, very sorry to have to tell you this, but I owned the best dog in the world. He was born underneath my bed in 1977 and died September 10, 1988. His name was Thumper. On a recent trip to Hapers Ferry WV, there was a pupper tied up at one of the shops and he was the image of my Thumper. I took a few pictures of him...his name is Trouble. I just couldn't resist taking the pictures.....Now he is the background on my desktop. So, sorry to inform you, and you may not WANT to believe it, but my Thumper was the best dog....

Remember the old commercial: My dog's better than your dog, my dog's better than yours, my dog's better cause he eats ____________. My dog's better than yours. Ok, now who remembers what goes in the blank?

[lindajay]

Kennel Ration ?

[mom to 4]

Yep! Funny how things come back isn't it....All I would think of when I was posting to Norm ...Hmmmm....my dog's better that his! and the whole song came back! Ouch! my age is showing!:eek: :eek:

[lindajay]

I guess being the winner of that one actually means I'm a loser -- since it puts me way back "in the days." That was a good jingle, though, wasn't it?

[Red Sky]

Sherry- Your Pixie cut got me thinking about hair, and in particular some bad photos of mine growing up (Nancy I think I'm having a relapse.) When I turned 13 my straight hair started to curl and I fought it with the hot comb. Here's a picture that once again was a candidate for the 1973 Christmas card. It never made it, but my "cliffhead" lives on in this memory. Also, don't you like the centering the Instamatics gave you? Could we be any further to the left?

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1QwWBuSpgiBF94J955uq1NoCvQvMK5_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1QwWBuSpgiBF94J955uq1NoCvQvMK5)

[jazzfisher]

AAH Steven,
What a lovely family photo----nice job with the hot comb. My hair was long in high school & straight (I have very straight hair) but it wasn't straight enough for me so I would lay my hair on the ironing board & iron it with a hot iron.....:eek: Trying to get that mod London look....

[virgo1]

Hey Twin,
My hair was straight and I did the same thing.:D
Eva;)

[Ellen]

This just keeps getting more and more fun. Does thinking that the shots that embarrass us and that others think are cute mean that we are all turning into our parents?

[jazzfisher]

Ellen,
Please: Don't say those things!!!!:D

[NMarti]

Sherry
The pixie was very traumatic for me. You see - I could sit on my hair it was so long when I was about 8 or 9. My mom decided she didn't like it anymore.:rolleyes: Said it was too much trouble. She had it cut into a pixie. 3 feet of hair GONE in one swipe of the scissors. I was in the living room when my dad came home. He walked in - looked at me and left the room. He went into the kitchen to ask who that boy in the living room was.:eek: Now being raised with 7 brothers that was quite an insult that he couldn't tell it was me. He wouldn't speak to my mom for 2 weeks over that. Wouldn't look at me for 3 weeks. My hair has never been past my collar since.

[jazzfisher]

Nancy,
That was cruel, at least they could have taken a couple inches at a time. But I must tell you on "backwards day" in Jr. High--I won the contest for looking most like a boy.....That says alot about my figure then doesn't it?????:cool:

[Wendy]

Oh this thread is just so funny ... love the images that have been added in the last few hours., They are magic !!!

Sherry ... I too had long hair but mine is curly ... when straight was in fashion I did everything I could to get it straight. Even tried the ironing board but it only worked for an hour or two :mad:

All I ever wanted was long hair that swung as I walked ... broke my heart not to have it ... :D

Wendy

[NMarti]

Sherry
What about me - 7 brothers and he couldn't tell the difference!:eek: Yeah - I was a walking bean pole - made Paris Hilton look FAT! My brothers used to tell me to put my bra on backwards because my shoulder blades were bigger.:twisted: Oh for those days again.:rolleyes:

[Bayla]

Oh dear! I have sat reading this thread for the past ten minutes and have tears running dowm my cheeks! I can identify with some of these family horrors, but I flatly refuse to go public with my own particular embarassment.....I have two pictures taken when I was about three and I am completely starkers apart from socks and sandals and a sunhat....my children made me promise NEVER to do that to them. And all those hairdos, well you should count yourself lucky....I have picture after picture of my sister and I with short back and sides, we were never allowed long hair once we went to school in case we caught headlice, but I hated always looking like a boy. My girls have long hair thay they can almost sit on, my one act of rebellion against what my mother did to me.

Bayla

[Wendy]

Hi Bayla ...

Oh my you have the socks, sandles and sunhat photo too. I have one quite similar I think that parents did it just to embarass us in later years ... :)

Wendy

[mhughes]

How I longed to have long curly hair! I sat next to another girl with long sausage curls down past her shoulders & was blonde like Goldilocks, too. So unfair.
My haircut was called the Buster Brown haircut & Dad took me to the barbershop he used; they sat me up on some thing that sat across the chair & the barber did his thing with the shears on the back of my neck, finishing off with a big whisk of a powder just like my Dad's. (oh...that thing with the shears was called a "shingle")

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1JNyHQPdxf52T0VyLwg7Z9bsyYVHzr_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1JNyHQPdxf52T0VyLwg7Z9bsyYVHzr)

Mary

[Wendy]

Hi Mary ...

Oh I love the haircut !! :)

Wendy

[jazzfisher]

Mary,
You're so cute....
They tried to treat us as males, but when we started women's lib--they didn't exactly want us doing things like going into barber shops, now did they?:D

[Pauline]

Oh my. Well all I can say is cat's eye glasses and I had braids until I was about 8 or 9 and rebelled against them! Once in a while my mother would do my hair up in rags and I would have ringlettes for a couple of days.

[NMarti]

Pauline
No ringlets for me - my hair wouldn't hold curl - but oh those pigtails!

Mary
That is so cute! Looks like all your missing is the little dog Spot.:D

[mhughes]

The really painful part of having this haircut was that I had to stand by the front door every morning before catching the bus for school so my mother could give me those last minute whack-whacks with the hairbrush right down over my poor exposed ears. She would be in a great hurry & didn't take particular care where the brush landed.

Mary

[Red Sky]

Well, thanks to those that participated in this thread and brought it back from the dead. Speaking of dead, here's one last picture of a weird hair style. This is some relative of mine, a great great great (maybe more) relative, and it is on one of those metal images that make a straight on shot not possible. I wonder what his grin is about? Most people in this era looked kind of dour. Maybe he got accepted into clown college or something.

httphttp://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1Wo0D8KWaBim9geD63hbGUzpjm5EjH_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1Wo0D8KWaBim9geD63hbGUzpjm5EjH)

[jazzfisher]

Steven,
Any family resemblance????:D

[NMarti]

Steven
Is that why you are wearing the bakers hat? Do you have a big curl on top of your head?:D

I guess if you had that hair you couldn't help but smile.

[Wendy]

I think Steven has just the same cut :)

Wendy

[Red Sky]

I visited some friends this weekend who live near the house I grew up in. I went up to the old neighborhood early this morning and walked around the area. I lived there for 18 years and there is nobody in the neighborhood that is familiar to me anymore. Trees that were once there are gone and trees that were never there before are tall. I naturally thought of my father who died 9 years ago, and of my brother who I haven't seen in 9 years. I thought of my mother and her second marriage to a great guy, yet her disinterest in many things from the past, from which she unloaded all these old family photos I have. This is where my siblings and I saluted the flag, I staged my cooking shot and we gave our best scowls on the Christmas card. I looked at my old house and took a quick photo and put up a picture taken on the porch almost 40 years ago. I guess you can never go home.

http://www.pixentral.com/hosted/1VuKqGsmkheAcZrKYfyioyk3inKBg1_thumb.jpg (http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1VuKqGsmkheAcZrKYfyioyk3inKBg1)

[Netnut]

Steven--
As long as you have memories, good or bad or both, you can always go home. I too have gone to my old neighborhood and looked at the house I grew up in. Like you, nothing is the same, but when I close my eyes, I can see all us kids playing in the street, dirt street at that. Playing hide and go seek in the summertime and making snowmen in the winter. Running after the ice truck in the summer hopeing to get a piece of ice off the back of the truck.
Sometimes, I just sit and close my eyes and wonder if I had done just one or two things different in my life if it would have changed anything at this stage.
Enough rambling. Try closing your eyes and remembering. It does wonders for you.

[Wendy]

Steven ...

Like Garry I tend to adopt the close my eyes method ... :) I once went back to my old home and it was so changed that afterwards I just wished I hadn't gone there.

Wendy

[crljean]

Just last summer I took a drive and made a circle to all the farms where I grew up. Not one of the houses is still there. Good thing I have them "in my head!" Garry, where in Central Iowa are you?

[mom to 4]

I have often driven passed the home I was raised in until I was 6 (my dad is burried about 1/2 mile away). It was also the house my mother was raised in by her aunt and uncle. The house used to have cedar shake siding and now it has vinyl siding....Yuck...takes away from the age of the house (built in the 20's). Shortly after my fathers death, I went by the house and got out of my car and walked up the street. The owner who bought the house from my mother still lives there. He came up to me and asked: Are you Colleen? Remember I was 6 when we left there in 1960 and it was now 1995. I started to cry and said yes. He asked if I would like to come in. Wow! what an emotional rollercoaster that was. There were items my parents couldn't take when we moved. Large pieces of furniture....we were moving to a smaller house down at the beach in NJ, it was cheaper there. I saw things and started crying. The rooms all of a sudden were so small. I had remembered them much larger. I touched the railing to go upstairs and could remember my (Great) Uncle Bill who had, in his 40's built the house for his bride who was also in her 40's. They took my mom in within a few years of their marriage after her mother died. They were wonderful people. Touching that railing all I could think of was that their hands had been in the same place at one time. Very emotional.

Then the owner said he had a stupid question to ask me. Why was there a door buzzer connected to the upstairs bedroom into the kitchen? I laughed and explained how my two older sisters would get out of bed at night and sit on the stairs listening to my parents and/or the radio downstairs. They would fall asleep on the stairs and my parents would find them when going to bed. They installed the buzzer to alert them when they left the room at night....my mother would yell....."Get back in bed"! My sisters didn't know how she knew they were up for many years!

Thanks for taking me, too, back down memory lane.........

[lindajay]

Colleen, that was a touching story! I feel like I just read a Reader's Digest story . . . you know, the human interest ones that grab you emotionally? Thanks for sharing it.

[Red Sky]

Wow Colleen. That's amazing. Yesterday was the first day since my parents sold the house in 1990 that I walked the neighborhood. The last time I drove by was the day my dad died; I had a need to see the house then. My father died in a hospice facility and they put an electric candle in the window right after the death to signify the light of life. I stared at that candle from the outside in the dark for quite some time. When I drove by my old house later that day there were lighted candles in all the front windows. It was a magic moment for me. I went home and told my family what I saw and we all thought it to be pretty special. The next day my brother drove to the house and went to the door and talked to the new owners. He came home and blurted out to me "Hey, hate to ruin your buzz but those candles are just decorations and they are in the window all the time." One of the reasons I haven't seen him since my father died.

[Wendy]

Colleen ...

Your story really drew me into it ... I could almost see the house :)

Wendy

[Wendy]

Hi Steven ...

In life I have learned that magic for one person is just dust to another ... but I look at it different. I feel sorry them ... to go though life never seeing the magic of little things is such a sad thing.

Wendy

[lindajay]

Steven -- there goes a tear down my cheek!

[NMarti]

Steven and Colleen,
Those are both such wonderful stories. The house I grew up in has long since been destroyed and a new one rebuilt in its place. I loved the house because it was pink stucco. (Hey I was 8 years old :rolleyes: ) The stucco chipped off from age and lack of care. The funny thing was it chipped off in the profile of a dragon - sort of like "Puff the Magic Dragon" which was a popular song at the time. When people asked me where I lived I always told them the pink house with the dragon on the side.

[mom to 4]

Ah, Steven, the joy of having siblings! :twisted: Can have the same mother and father but be so different..... I'm Irish.....I know where you are coming from... Keep YOUR memory. I believe those things are gifts from God. I do not believe in coincidences. You were put there for a reason.....to see those candles on that day. They may be on every single day, but you were drawn there on that day to see them. Your brother should have kept his mouth shut. Just my humble opinion....maybe I should keep my mouth shut!:o

[Red Sky]

Nancy- Is that the infamous Daisy Dukes house? The people who live in my old house run a day care out of it, so they must like kids. I was wondering about when I get around to doing the 8mm movie to DVD conversion of our home movies, perhaps making the people there a copy of scenes taken in the house and yard. Show them how much life that house had with a family they never knew. I would be blown away if someone did that for me.

Colleen- I agree, he should have kept his mouth shut. One thing he couldn't take away from me also happened on that day my dad died. I was in my mom's garage and a cat from across the street ran over to me. I had never seen a cat at her place and I picked it up and was holding it. A guy from across the street came over as it was his girlfriends cat that had got out of the house. The cat's name was Jack. That was my dad's name. You don't meet a cat named Jack every day...

[mom to 4]

Linda, Wendy, Nancy and Steven:

Thanks for the nice comments. It's very cathartic (sp?) to get some of this out.....I guess PSE can also be a sort of group theraphy!

Steven: I believe you led to comforting things on that day.....by your father or someone else, You were supposed to be there and have those feelings and to be comforted. Some people just never get it.

Carol, they can take the houses, but not the memories.......or our pictures either in our head or our photographs.....maybe we should start a thread with photo's of our childhood homes..........

[Netnut]

Carol I live in Ankeny. I have a lot of relatives, although distant, living in Fort Dodge and the surrounding area. My Grandfather and Grandmother immigrated from Sweden to somewhere around Fort Dodge and them moved to Alcester, SD.

[NMarti]

Steven
That is an excellent idea. When I was doing genealogy work I found a lot of pictures of my gg-grandparents house that was sold shortly afterwards at public auction when the last family member moved to a nursing home. The person that bought it told us at the auction she wanted to restore the house. I took her photos of not only the house and how it used to look but also the people who built it in 1850. She did a nice collage and hung it on the wall in the foyer. It was so nice to see my ancesters "back home again". It made for an intersting conversation piece for her as well.

[Wendy]

Nancy ...

Oh that was a great idea !! ...

Wendy

[mom to 4]

Nancy:

What a great idea. I would absolutely feel as you do, that they are home again. Lovely story! Great idea!

[crljean]

Garry - I'm familiar with Ankeny. We have friends there and love to go there to shop. I'm the church secretary at the First Covenant Church here. LOTS of Swedes! We're celebrating the 110th anniversary this year. Perhaps your grandparents passed through the portals at one time. Small world.

[Netnut]

Carol---If not my grandparents, I'm sure some of my relatives did. I am originally for a small town in N/W Iowa called Hawarden. I know my father used to go to Fort Dodge to visit his cousins and other relatives. The last name is Westling. I know there are several of them up there.

[NRiceDesigns]

One question Steven - why were you wearing a ski slope on your head?

[NRiceDesigns]

How traumatic for his lineage.

[NRiceDesigns]

Mmmhmmm - those are definitely Aquanet moments.

[NRiceDesigns]

Wendy, I've seen that photo before and I still love it.

Brice

Brice, are you sure you aren't referring the photo shown around the globe of Michael Jackson holding his child out of the window? :D ;) Now we know where he got the idea!

[NRiceDesigns]

Robyn I think it's cute! Now c'mon - where's the embarassing one?

[NRiceDesigns]

"James Gang Photo" because of our poses

Nancy, that is definitely a JGP - you really must do a wanted poster!

[NRiceDesigns]

Like Byron I am not going to post a thumbnail ...

just put your coffee down before you view it ... how could parents be this cruel :eek:

http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1egzMsgfGU2TLmTcDrX3HQ6KTLodD1

Wendy

O-M-G
Wendy, were they potty training you & you didn't make it?? :D

[NRiceDesigns]

Hey,
So your sister's butt hits the internet waves--who cares????:D

YEAH, Nancy. If Wendy can show hers, you can certainly show your sister's. Who would rat on you? (OK, true, it could be e-mailed to millions & end up on CNN or MSNBC)

[SCRAPPYGIRL]

The cat's name was Jack. That was my dad's name. You don't meet a cat
named Jack every day...[/quote]

Steven,
I'm a bit strange, but I believe that was a sign that your Dad was with you that day. I think we get all kinds of signs that our departed loved ones are still with us, we just need to open our eyes and be aware.

My Mom passed in 2004. This past May my sister was diagonsed with cancer of the eye and had to have surgery to implant an 100 hour raidation treatment. On the day of her surgery of course myself and other 3 sisters were there. And while she was having the surgery I picked up a newspaper in the waiting room and the date was April 17, which is my Mom's birthday (now mind you it was now May 24th) It made me feel so wonderful, because I knew it meant that Mom was there with us that morning. I believe our loved ones are with us always, and that they find unique ways of letting us know they are here. We just need to be aware!!!