From my parents slide collection. 1961. I'm nine years old and my brother is 7. We traveled to Disneyland, staying at one of the many small hotels that lined the strips in Anaheim. A lot of them seem to be gone now. The car in the background is proof of the era! That sign in the background could be for the Magic Kingdom itself.
My father spent a lot of time taking his pictures. He insisted that his subjects stay still for a long period of time while he did mysterious things twisting the knobs. All things that a child could not possibly understand so don't even ask! I have a whole series of photos where the subject (usually young) has wandered away. He caught us in mid air, just as my brother's hands were going to touch the surface of the water. Wow!
The picture illustrates our different styles. Sometimes my brother can find hidden aspects in the world. Full of grace, he could naturally dive into the pool, somehow getting all that lift from the cement edge. Myself, I just went for it, just jump off that side without any further inspiration.
Now at 55 and challenged by weight, I take a deep water aerobics class at the local pool. Not to worry, if I can get in a swimsuit and go to class, anybody can. Let's just say that I don't stand out, you know? Lately, I've decided that the whole experience would be enhanced if I jump into the pool at the beginning. Now, us old folks, we gently lower ourselves in. But what if, what if, you just jumped in, just like a kid? A month or so ago, I decided to do it. I got that familiar feeling when attempting to do anything physical that I can't do it. I can't do it. Can't make myself do it. In this case, I just did it. I jumped into that pool. Um, kind of made a big splash and I'm sure I looked great too....NOT! Everybody turned around amazed. But I'm thinking that I do it just like I did when I was 9 years old, Just like that. Hands out, just flop into that pool.
It does make a difference, gives you a whole different feeling starting the class, somehow recalling the splashing and swimming from younger times. I'm trying to start a movement among my fellow middle aged women to jump into the pool but I'm not getting too far.
1 comment:
Sandy, I love your "historic photos" and this one really brought back memories of a trip we took to disneyland in about 1964 or 64. We met my cousins from Memphis there and stayed at the ricki motel which we thought was ritzy because it had a pool.My cousins had visited Tiajuana and had lots of stories of forbiden fruit!
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