Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Two children - 1959

Two children stand in the California sunshine in an immaculately kept front yard.  Myself and my younger brother Charlie in a suburban subdivision in Sacramento.  "April 19, 1959" is on the back which would make this my 7th birthday.  Charlie would be 4.  And a Sunday.  So, likely we are off to Sunday School which is how the Reform Jews did it.  Properly dressed children.

Maybe not.  Because Charlie wouldn't have been old enough for Sunday School.  And he's all dressed up too.  Everything is clean, ironed, down to the bow tie, handkerchief, the white socks, the mary jane shoes.  I likely had a fancy slip on which made the dress stick out.  My socks aren't quite pulled up.

Dressing correctly was very important to my mother.  In all of the childhood pictures, we, especially me, wear appropriate, nicely kept, proper clothes.  I think that my lack of attention to my clothes disappointed my mother her entire life.  It was NOT for lack of proper training, check me out!  My parents did like good appearances in their children, their clothing their home.  However they did not spend a lot of money on these types of things.  I always had the clothes I was supposed to have, but never the fancy brands or the latest fashions.  In fact, I wore a lot of hand-me-downs from my cousin Mary Ann who was about 4 years older than me.  The same Mary Ann who I do projects with now.

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