A Firm Foundation
This picture really touched me when I saw it for the first time the other day. I am working on saving some old slides, taken by my step-grandfather, Lucien Toucas. The only ones I have are from 1948 and 1964-65, and surprisingly the older ones seem to be in better shape. I was really happy about that, since they show my grandmother and mother when they were young.
This was when my parents met. My grandfather, who was the executive chef of The Hotel Astor in New York City, and my grandmother, decided to build a bungalow out on Long Island, which was to be for weekends and holidays. My father was the builder they contracted to do the job, and this is the foundation of that original building, as well as the foundation of our family since this is how my parents got together and my brother and I came to be.
Known in our family as "the Branch House", the bungalow became their permanent home eventually, and Pop commuted into NYC to work until his retirement. The name came from the fact that the bungalow grew as they needed the space and added rooms. It was always a place where Pop entertained company, and every Sunday afternoon we would go there, eat a late lunch that turned into dinner, as we all chatted around the table on the patio.
In this pic, my mother, Betty, is on the left and my grandmother, Julie is on the right. Mom was 24 in this shot and Ga-Ga was about 40-41. My grandmother died when she was 50. Mom lived to be 84 years old. Pop died the day after his 89th birthday, and my father, Charley, lived the longest, passing away in 1999 at the age of 92, just one month shy of turning 93 years old. He died the day before my mother's birthday. Ga-Ga died the eve of Mother's Day, thereby "ruining" it for my mom from then on. Pop died on Valentine's Day, and Mom topped them all by passing away at 4 AM, Christmas morning 2008, making sure she nailed both Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day! My family seems to go out with a bang, and fortunately, they also seem to do a lot of living in the time they have!
Just for the record, Ga-Ga loved attention and seemed very at ease in front of a camera, but no matter how good Mom looked, she always was self conscious. We have no portraits of her as a result. I imagine sitting on a thin board wasn't particularly comfortable, especially with Ga-Ga steadying herself on her shoulder! Though there's nothing to give you a size comparison, My mom was 5'1 1/2" at her peak, and Ga-Ga was only about 4'11" tall!
A Firm Foundation
This picture really touched me when I saw it for the first time the other day. I am working on saving some old slides, taken by my step-grandfather, Lucien Toucas. The only ones I have are from 1948 and 1964-65, and surprisingly the older ones seem to be in better shape. I was really happy about that, since they show my grandmother and mother when they were young.
This was when my parents met. My grandfather, who was the executive chef of The Hotel Astor in New York City, and my grandmother, decided to build a bungalow out on Long Island, which was to be for weekends and holidays. My father was the builder they contracted to do the job, and this is the foundation of that original building, as well as the foundation of our family since this is how my parents got together and my brother and I came to be.
Known in our family as "the Branch House", the bungalow became their permanent home eventually, and Pop commuted into NYC to work until his retirement. The name came from the fact that the bungalow grew as they needed the space and added rooms. It was always a place where Pop entertained company, and every Sunday afternoon we would go there, eat a late lunch that turned into dinner, as we all chatted around the table on the patio.
In this pic, my mother, Betty, is on the left and my grandmother, Julie is on the right. Mom was 24 in this shot and Ga-Ga was about 40-41. My grandmother died when she was 50. Mom lived to be 84 years old. Pop died the day after his 89th birthday, and my father, Charley, lived the longest, passing away in 1999 at the age of 92, just one month shy of turning 93 years old. He died the day before my mother's birthday. Ga-Ga died the eve of Mother's Day, thereby "ruining" it for my mom from then on. Pop died on Valentine's Day, and Mom topped them all by passing away at 4 AM, Christmas morning 2008, making sure she nailed both Christmas Eve AND Christmas Day! My family seems to go out with a bang, and fortunately, they also seem to do a lot of living in the time they have!
Just for the record, Ga-Ga loved attention and seemed very at ease in front of a camera, but no matter how good Mom looked, she always was self conscious. We have no portraits of her as a result. I imagine sitting on a thin board wasn't particularly comfortable, especially with Ga-Ga steadying herself on her shoulder! Though there's nothing to give you a size comparison, My mom was 5'1 1/2" at her peak, and Ga-Ga was only about 4'11" tall!