Sepia Saturday #323 - March 26th : A washtub, revolver and deflated beachball.

While other kids played with marbles, my photos reveal that we had some peculiar distractions when we were children. I picked out three examples.

The first one was a big favorite: dipping in the wash tub. Nobody had a swimming pool in those days; my childhood predated the advent of the inflatable backyard pool. On hot days, we ran through the hose spray but the tub was preferred for cooling. I had clearly outgrown the vessel, but not the desire to dunk. Joycie, my little friend, looks a bit disgusted by the scene or she was anxious for her turn. Now I have a swimming pool that I rarely use. The cats drink out of it and probably the possums do too, at night.  

This second photo fell out of an album I've only partially reviewed. It was a bit of a shocker to see my sister at 3 1/2 years old holding a pistol. I asked my husband if he could identify it, hopefully as a cap gun, but he said, "It's your father's service revolver." Gulp, I think he's kidding me. We held different opinions about guns in those days than we do currently but I'm sure my parents wouldn't have put a real one in my tiny sister's hands. My sister looks quite pleased and content with her toy. Haven't times changed?

My final picture shows my sister and I captivated by a half inflated beach ball, another odd plaything. We look as if we're waiting for the ball to do something. My sister's steepled fingers indicate deep thought. She enjoyed making up stories to entertain me and I think that's what she was doing.

The fellow in the upper left hand corner striding by in his bathing suit caught my eye. I can't tell if his suit is knit or not. The scene reminded me of this photo of my family suited up for a dip in the river on a hot summer's day. They all wore knit suits - stretchy, itchy and clingy, they were horrible. I can remember running back and forth into the water, holding my suit up with both hands because as soon as it was wet it would stretch and be down around my knees.

Hector Fortier, Addie Fortier, Jeanne Fortier, Joe Killeen, Jill Killeen

In the end, my point is that our imaginations and childhood lack of inhibitions were the best playthings we had. I can never remember myself or other children in our neighborhood proclaiming boredom. It was a concept beyond us -  every minute of the day was spent exercising our imaginations. At least, that's how I remember it.

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