In honor of this post, I thought I would post this picture of my dad when he was a little boy. He grew up in the Cedar-Riverside and Seward neighborhoods of Minneapolis (where the Swedes lived).
This picture hung on the hallway down to the basement in our house; I've always loved it for its uniqueness -- it just seems like such a slice of life, in so many ways. And I love for for what I don't know about it -- I really don't know much about the story behind this picture.There's my dad, carrying this dog up the sidewalk. It's probably somewhere near downtown Minneapolis in the 1930s. I know that my dad liked dogs. He told me once that he brought a dog home that he had found somewhere, but it cried all night and his parents made him take it back where-ever he found it.
But this was not that dog. That dog was a Lab. The dog in this picture was not his dog. I don't know why he was carrying it. I don't know what happened to it. I don't have any idea who took the picture (except that no one from the family took the picture).
I also love this picture because it's from a disappeared time and place. My dad used to tell me on occasion that the house he grew up in didn't exist any more. It was torn down, as was part of his neighborhood, when Interstate 94 was built. I don't think I appreciated what it meant to him to know that his past had been torn down, bull-dozed, was just GONE.
Since this is a picture without a story, and in honor of my 700th post, I'd love if, again, creative people would suggest a caption for this. Also, any speculation you might have about this picture would be fascinating to me.
P.S. There will be a prize, but I don't know what what it will be.
12 comments:
Diane,
What an interesting,intriguing story and photo. When you wrote, "A slice of life"...that phrase grabbed me.
Or maybe perhaps "A Window of Opportunity" as your dad had some sort of new opportunity with this puppy he was carrying and you have a window of opportunity to see into his life as a child growing up.
Sweet picture, sweet expression. I'll think on this.
"I hope I can keep him," he thinks, as he's carried down the sidewalk. ;)
Oh, Like "Window of Opportunity", but Tracy, I also like yours, from the dog's ;) point of view....
The look on your dad's face is one of hope, the kind of hope that comes from dreams of love and companionship.
My creative juices aren't flowing at the moment... but I'd like to say I LOVE the picture!
It's a wonderful photo. What a blessing to have it, complete with its mystery. Happy 600th!
it could be he ran into 2 guys named Hal and Mark and they said they were gonna start their own company... here kid hold this puppy and look cute 'kay? *snap*
or... perhaps the sidewalk was hot, and your dad felt sorry for the pup on pavement and chose to act compassionately and carry him to wherever the sunny day took the two of them?
OR... could it be an ancient relative of scouts? mmmmm....
I'm not good at coming up with captions, but this is a darling, wonderful photograph of your dad!
Great picture ... and I, like Jennifer, am not good at coming up with captions
Congrats on #700! I remember bringing home a few strays myself :)
This is a great picture. No caption comes to mind, but I found it interesting that your dad's childhood home is GONE, too. My dad's childhood town, Cedar Glades, was cleared out and flooded to make a lake. If you ask him, he can pick out "that hill" near the railroad tracks, which is now "that island."
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