Four Generations Side by Side

A few days ago, I noticed these pictures my wife had placed on some of our kitchen cabinets.  They were positioned  pretty much as shown, the black and white on top, and the color picture below.  Four generations I thought.    Looking carefully, I saw myself in both pictures.  About the same age [when the pictures were taken], about the same position [the right hand side], the same round head, the same eyes and nose,  is my youngest grandson Ian. 

The upper picture was taken in the 1950s.  The lower picture was taken not so long ago.  My family and me, and my youngest daughter Ellen and her family, are shown some 50 years apart.  The smiles look much the same.  Four generations on film side by side, how about that.

Valentine's Day

There's Cupid...arrows in hand...gazing into the sky along with the the wishful female who seems to be sitting on the sands of time.  The clouds have joined in, adding their hearts to the to the moment. "OH, BE MY VALENTINE" is the wish of so many at this time of year.  How all this got started is somewhat of a mystery.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica states:

            "St. Valentine's Day as a lovers' festival dates at least from the 14th century."

That would be from the 1300s onward when the idea of romantic love had its roots in the age of chivalry. [King Aurthur and his knights started big time by Geoffrey of Monmouth and picked up by the Normans in 1155 AD]  More elaborate, more ceremonious, and more romantic as the sands of  time moved forward.

However, the earliest St. Valentine's Day celebrated on February 14 was not related to romance.  It was associated with martyrdom.  A early Roman priest and physician was put to death because of his beliefs during the reign of Claudius II [268-270 AD].  Can you imagine what sort of clouds he was gazing into on this first St. Valentine's Day.

Sitting At The Table

Last post showed a picture of my family setting the table at one of our family reunions.  The women folk were mostly involved in the cooking and preparation.   They would bring their "best" dishes to the gatherings and carefully place them along the tables set before us.   The following picture shows the sitting at the table.

It seemed to me the males made it to a sitting position most of the time during this phase of the gathering.  Food to the mouth is shown to be the main activity.  There were even some younger folks sitting at this table.  Don't remember ever sitting myself, but there were other things to do.  You could go a long way on a fried chicken leg in each hand.  Yes sir, the women would set the table, and on the most part, it was the men who would sit the table.