Sepia Saturday
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| Ella, Ivy, Maude, and Myrtle Ah, the Teal girls: my great aunts and grandmother. If I met Ivy and Myrtle once upon a time, I have no memory of those get-togethers, so either our encounters were quite forgettable, not very often, or both. It is quite a different story with Great Aunt Ella, as I have fond reminiscences of fun times together in San Francisco where shopping and lunch were high on the agenda. Since this was the 50s, we "dressed." I'm talking gloves and hats, something unheard of in today's San Francisco scene where jeans and sandals rule the day. I was skinny and bow-legged, not yet in my teens; I must have looked silly in gloves and a hat. But that was the custom when visiting The City. Quite different, as well, are my memories of Grandmother Maude. There are none, only stories told to me by my mom. I never knew Grandma as she died shortly after my mother was born, leaving Mom and Grandpa alone until a not so wonderful step mother, whom I vaguely remember as having huge horse-like front teeth that fascinated me, appeared on the scene and became a strong influence in Mom's upbringing, a childhood characterized by a lack of maternal warmth. Yet my mother turned into a wonderful person, so there must have been something positive happening. Maybe it was Grandpa's influence. How I wish I could have known her. |
