03 December 2007

The truth comes out

I tell people that I wasn't a very good-looking baby and they always pooh-pooh that.

"Oh, I'll bet you were adorable," they say.

I have evidence to the contrary:


It is the early 1960's. That is Laura on the left, with my brother Al, PK, and me being dandled by my oldest sister Elvie. They don't look that tremendously pleased with their new little bundle of crankiness, especially Al, who was still trying to will me into being a little brother.

We lived in a 2-bedroom house (plus a converted garage) on an oil lease with thousands of acres of wilderness to play in. Seven families total lived there, all in a row.

It was 15 miles from the nearest town of 300 people. We had a phone with a party line (in case you have never heard of a party line, it is when more than one family shares the phone line. You could pick up the phone and listen to other people's conversations - and I am sure that many people did!) To dial out, you had to call an operator. No, I am not making this up.

I may have been cranky THEN, but that was nothing compared to when the chicken pox hit a few months later.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Cranky and unattractive are two different things. You may have been cranky...sure...but I think you were very cute.

The artist formerly known as WG
(http://wordgirl5.typepad.com/apathy_lounge)

QT said...

OMG - I had to laugh out loud. Yes, cranky and unattractive ARE two different things. This pic is priceless!

super des said...

This is the best picture ever, especially with the background info.
:)

LittlePea said...

Not true! You were cute.

Anonymous said...

Do you remember having chicken pox twice?

West Coast Grrlie Blather said...

More evidence must be proffered to justify the "not cute" verdict. As liebowitz said, you look cranky, but not unattractive.

I really loved hearing about your rural upbringing...my grandparents had a party line too.

SUEB0B said...

Leave it to your big sis to correct your timeline LOL. Thanks, Elvie.

Kris said...

Pshaw. You were freaking adorable!!! Great picture. We have some that, if you look at my older brother, I'm quite sure you can tell by his face that he was formulating a plan to pummel me shortly after the camera is put away.

Anonymous said...

Elvie was a little hottie, wasn't she??

And, yeah......what they all said........there is a difference between cranky and not cute. You were cute. :)

Unknown said...

People say the same thing about me; you should definitely see my baby pictures.

OH MY - I'm way ugly.

Heather B. said...

Awww...it's a mini SueBob! Adorable.

Suzanne said...

Personally, I think all babies are weird looking. However, I agree 100% with des that this is a fantastic picture and background story.

TB said...

Yup, liebowitz is right. You were cute and cranky, just like Myles. And believe me, if he wasn't so cute, we'd have sent him back a long time ago ;o)

the mystic said...

I burst out laughing when I saw this -- your expression is priceless - especially following your opening of this post. But you were still cute!

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