Miserable Tykes, UK (1920's), USA (1938)
“Big John” from England, is no longer writing a blog and I miss him. I loved an entry of his entitled “A not too neat and tidy trio” where he featured the picture that you see here. I found it very amusing and I especially loved the expressions on the three little tykes.
I commented to him that it reminded me of the Staples TV commercial...the one that airs just before the start of another school year. It shows the Dad racing around the store gathering supplies for his kids. He is ecstatic because school is starting and he's singing (to the Christmas tune of “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”) and then the camera trains on the kids and, I swear, they have expressions on their faces just like the two older children in his photo. Priceless!
Now, imagine my surprise when my oldest sister, Mary, (age 80 then) sent me this photo. She’d had it framed and wrote, “Merry Christmas 2006, Joy & Peace” across the inside ! You can see that she retained a good sense of humor. I immediately thought of John’s picture and how similar they are.
I am the youngest of 5 girls and when I asked Mary where our middle sister Nancy was she said that none of us wanted to have our picture taken that day, but only Nancy was brave enough to stamp her foot and run off. She was, and is, the rebel of the family
I guess children have their miserable days just like we adults do...but somehow you don’t expect to see it in family photos. There is something very appealing about these two pictures, however. You can almost hear the big sighs and read their secret thoughts ... ”you can make us pose, but you can’t make us smile !”
I commented to him that it reminded me of the Staples TV commercial...the one that airs just before the start of another school year. It shows the Dad racing around the store gathering supplies for his kids. He is ecstatic because school is starting and he's singing (to the Christmas tune of “It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year”) and then the camera trains on the kids and, I swear, they have expressions on their faces just like the two older children in his photo. Priceless!
Now, imagine my surprise when my oldest sister, Mary, (age 80 then) sent me this photo. She’d had it framed and wrote, “Merry Christmas 2006, Joy & Peace” across the inside ! You can see that she retained a good sense of humor. I immediately thought of John’s picture and how similar they are.
I am the youngest of 5 girls and when I asked Mary where our middle sister Nancy was she said that none of us wanted to have our picture taken that day, but only Nancy was brave enough to stamp her foot and run off. She was, and is, the rebel of the family
I guess children have their miserable days just like we adults do...but somehow you don’t expect to see it in family photos. There is something very appealing about these two pictures, however. You can almost hear the big sighs and read their secret thoughts ... ”you can make us pose, but you can’t make us smile !”
posted by Ginnie at 4:13 PM
8 Comments:
Too funny, Ginnie--how kids stand there reluctantly. I know when parents get a camera in their hands, the photo gets taken!
I think this is really funny. I see pictures of myself and see me smiling in almost all of them. Co-dependent tendencies or just optimism even then?
What great old photos!! I was of the "no smile" variety, too, at least sometimes. My mom made me get up early in the a.m. to photograph me in my cap and gown and I scowled through all of them!!
Siblings in cahoots? Must be because as an ONLY, I can't recall anything similar. Next time I'm into the old albums, I'll have to be aware though.
Great post Ginny, That last line is so right on!! hugs, Bud
Guess you wouldn't have said "Cheese" if the'd paid ya to, huh? I used to do some photography and would occasionally have some grownups who just scowled at the camera - my clients were not paying for scowls - so I used to say "OK everybody, say SEX!" And after the look of astonishment, I always got the grins I needed. But ya gotta know your audience before ya try that one!
Hehe, I have quite a few pics of my own kids from when they don't want to stand still long enough to have a family happy snap taken..I never include them in my blog posts, perhaps I ought to for the laugh :)
How endearing to see the kids posing for the pictures, with the utmost seriousness.
Having picture taken was a great deal back then I suppose.
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