The Ghost of Christmas(es) Past

Happy December! As I turn over to the last page of the Kiss calendar in my office (of COURSE I have a Kiss calendar in my office!), I thought I'd turn to cheerier thoughts than the ranting which has dominated my last few posts.

Miss Tessmacher and I have had LOADS of fun shopping for The Roslynator so far. We're trying to be good consumers, staying away from el-cheapo "Made In China" garbage and front-loading our gift registry with high-quality organic and/or fair trade stuff so that the grandparents will have lots to choose from. I've also been hard at work (ha! ME, hard at work!) using Photoshop to spice up all of those childhood pics I scanned in, and the results are usually stunning. I had no IDEA so many of those photos were as badly faded and...well, TIME-WORN as they were. Seeing them now, with saturation and color restored to proper levels, is almost like seeing entirely new pictures.

Here's a good one: Christmas 1969, at the apartment my mom had us living in:

I just LOVE the swag pole light in the corner, don't you? Interesting to see here are three possible future professions: as evidenced by the loot, my mother either intended me to be a boxer (the Bozo bop bag), a cowboy (the ride-'em horse and teensy boots), or a drummer. Hmmmm! Well, despite THIS evidence from later that morning:

I think it's pretty clear which of these occupational hazards I "stuck with." (Ha! Get it? "Stuck?" It's the past tense of STICK, you ninnies! Oh, never mind...just look at the fuckin' picture...)

I was a healthy 17 months old here, and I must say I look pretty pleased with myself. You can also see the edge of a small rocking chair Grampa built for me...one that's still waiting at my mom's until Roz is big enough for it.

Here's another photo, probably from '70 or '71, when we lived in a rented house on Grant St. in Auburn. This house was just down the road from a future friend of mine...weird.

I like the garage/elevator in the background for my Fisher-Price peg-people, but prominently in the foreground is everybody's favourite: Dapper Dan! Along with Dressy Bessie, these were Playskool's attempt to get kids used to the various shenanigans we all go through to get dressed. Dapper Dan had shoes to tie, and buttons, snaps, buckles...all sorts of fun stuff. Presumably, Bessie came with bra hooks and garters and a red velvet lace-up bustier. (Which would explain why I played with HER in college...nudge-nudge, wink-wink!)

From a few years later, maybe '74, is a photo taken in the trailer we lived in for many years just west of Auburn:

I find it amazing that interiour decor can be so given to the whims of fashion, but stuff like holiday decorations become treasured heirlooms. That stocking hanging there? That's STILL in use every year at my mom's house. It no longer hangs off of the stereo door-pull anymore...THAT'S in the basement, and we stay in the living room to deal out the contents of our stockings, thank you!

Again from the trailer is this photo, maybe '75 or '76:

I can't tell which is my favourite: the BLACK vinyl of our couch, or the WHITE vinyl of my grandmother's go-go boots. I suspect the couch lasted longer, though: despite fashion being the fickle bitch it is, I was still using that couch & matching chair as furniture when I was a senior. In COLLEGE. Behind me is my aunt Deb...which explains why we grew up more as brother & sister. Also, take a look at the frost forming on the inside of those trailer windows. Shit, it musta been COLD in that mutha!

And lastly, from the glory years of my childhood, a photo from the big house we lived in right at 131 N. Auburn Street. I know it'll be a few years yet before Roslyn gets her first taste of action figures...but still, I'm looking forward to the day when opening a Stretch Monster gives HER the Happy Christmas Present Face.

(Nice Batman pj's.)

That's it for now. Stay warm, stay safe on icy roads...and go to hell if you're someplace warm and thinking "What's he talking about? I need to get my air conditioner fixed!" More Holiday Hijinx to come.