To the Manor Born

I have always prided myself on my natural grace and style. Here I am, impeccably groomed,enjoying an elegant breakfast sometime around Christmas, 1950. I assume the butler took the photo.

Playing the Game

Peer pressure is rough on a gay teenager. I hated the idea of dating (girls, anyway), but was coerced into going to a prom (Senior year, probably) and will be ever grateful to a girl I knew and liked from junior high...Elena Barbagallo, who reminded me of the movie actress Patricia Neal. Elena has my undying gratitude for putting up with me.

So Fast They Fly!

This grainy shot is from the local Rockford newspaper. My very first job was as a page...love that word...at the Rockford Public Library when I was probably 15. The photo is from a group shot taken on the occasion of the library's having gotten a movie projector...a big deal at the time. The years had begun their accellerated pace, which continues to this day.

Music Man

I don't know whose idea it was...mine or my parents...that I take up music. I wanted to play the trombone, but the band instructor said I didn't have the right mouth/teeth for it. So I settled for the clainet, at which I was not very good. Still, it got me in the band and stood me in very good stead for years later, when I was in the NavCads. But more of that later. Now it is 1947 or thereabouts, and I'm feeling very special in my band "uniform."

Family Outings

One of the joys of growing up is trips with the family. But the years rush forward, tumbling over themselves to the point where it is sometimes hard to remember which year was which, or exactly how old one was when a photo was taken. This one, on a trip to Chicago's Brookfield Zoo (Dad behind the camera again)was, considering my relative height to Mom, probably was 1944 or 1945.

A Moment in Time

I've been trying to keep these photos in more or less chonological order, but came across this shot of my dad taken around 1938. It's really only since I've been looking at photos of him as a young man that I realize how really good looking he was.

The Pilgrim's Progress

The meandering river that is life has many bridges. Here, I've just crossed the one dividing elementary school and junior high. My reluctant journey from childhood to being an adult continues, and here I seem happy enough to just to go along with the flow.