Salty like hot dogs (and tears). Sweet like marmalade (and life).
There once was this thing called a pram
In which were placed sweet little lambs
Babies galore
In their perambula-tor
[how would you finish this limerick?]
The top photo is my dad. The photo was dated and labeled.
The bottom photo is my sister. It was not (labeled). I just know my sister.
There once was a cousin named Owen
Whose name we kept a-goin’
With son number two
Whose eyes were so blue
[can you finish this limerick for me?]
I thought my father had a cousin named Owen and that he could possibly be one of these children. However, when I checked my family tree, I couldn’t find a cousin Owen. I did, however, find my father’s Uncle Owen.
Note to self: label photos. Keep good records. Don’t trust your memory — it won’t last.
This is my son Owen — many years ago after a watercolor extravaganza.
When we chose his name, it was because it was a family name — and we didn’t know a single other Owen. Now it seems like Owens abound.
There once was a lovely young nurse
To whom hiking and camping was not averse
What began with a “hello”
From a young handsome fellow
[can you finish my limerick for me?]
My mom and dad met when she was working nights as a nurse. My father had the job of picking up IV bottles from the inpatient floors and bringing them to Central Sterilization. (It’s a job that no longer exists. Thanks, plastic.)
Anyway, as he was making his rounds, she and my father started chatting about hiking and camping in New England. The rest is history.
There once was a baby who saw
A face looking at him from a wall
He reached out to touch it
But he could not budge it
[can you finish this limerick for me?]
This is my mother and my oldest brother. She seems quite tickled by his fascination with the mirror.
Once a father and son shared some laughter
Tired mom thought, “That’s what I’m after!”
Giggles and joy
Twixt Dad and his boy
[can you finish my limerick for me?]
This is a picture of my father and my oldest brother taken probably in 1955.
There once was a girl with a kitty
A stuffed animal — but isn’t it pretty?
In her dress trimmed with lace
And her serious face
[how would you finish this limerick?]
This is a picture of my mother that I found this past weekend. Isn’t she adorable?
There once was a boy and an ocean
When they first met, what emotion!
Joy and delight!
Giggles! (Some fright)
[how would you finish this limerick?]
This is a photo of my oldest brother and (I think) my aunt. I’m guessing it’s Ocean Grove, New Jersey, but I could be wrong. I just know that my father and his family used to go there. They nicknamed it Ocean Grave, I think because there were a lot of older people there.
Bear in mind, all of this could be totally wrong.
The expression on my brother’s face, though, is undeniable joy.
I was reading this morning from William Willimon’s book Accidental Preacher — a self-illustrated memoir — and came across this little sketch:
He had based his sketch on a photo. Here’s what he said,
I love that photo’s depiction of one of the great joys of aging — leading a little one toward the grand adventure of the wide world, gripping his hand reassuringly, egging him on to face into the wind and leap the waves.
But yesterday, when I looked at that picture of the two of us — the little boy and the old man — it occurred to me that I had misread that moment. I, who always thought that I was leading the child, saw that I was being led…
He was all future; I was now mostly past. In truth, the little one, still fresh in the world, had me by the hand, encouraging me to make my way into the deep…
There once was a man named Irwin
Fort Riley named their hospital for him
A good man, I would say
Building’s still there today
[can you finish my limerick for me?]
I’ll be honest. I have zero recollection of our family’s time in Ft. Riley, Kansas.
This photo was taken 8-9 months AFTER that move.
I was 6 weeks old when we moved from Ft. Knox to Ft. Riley. My father had gone on ahead and my mother had essentially done the move by herself.
Of course, I had no idea about any of that until 50 years later. I had asked my mother many times about what I was like as a baby. She had always dodged the question — which made me think I must have been a fussy baby. One day, though, she said, “That was a terrible time,” and she went on to talk a little bit about that move.
I think the military does stuff like that — insensitive to the service-person’s family. They’re getting better though. I’ve followed this story: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c98kn1k3nreo about a young wife arrested and taken from her new husband when he was trying to get her settled in base housing. She had come into the country illegally when she was 22 months old and had been working through the paperwork.
Clearly NOT the “worst of the worst.”
After being taken away in handcuffs and held five days in a detention center, she was released. She has been fitted with an ankle monitor and told to report to ICE every week.
I’m proud that my father served in the military. I’m not always proud of what our country is doing today and think it would be a hard time to serve.
There was a red Radio Flyer of hay
On a hot sunny summery day
We loaded the wagon
And then started draggin’
[how would you finish this limerick?]
Next door to our property was a dairy farmer who cut, baled, and hauled away the hay. We “helped.”
A few years ago I did the A-to-Z Challenge using collages I had made alongside unfinished limericks. I especially enjoyed the unfinished limerick part. It was very audience-participation-ish.
This year I thought I would try using old photographs and unfinished limericks. Can you finish this limerick?
There once was a girl dressed in gauze
Not a mummy! But a white dress it was –
With shawl and a smile
Ethiopian-style
[Can you finish my limerick?]
This is my sister, looking quite lovely in her dress and shawl. The style was definitely Ethiopian. The fabric is very gauzy, with multiple layers of fabric. The dress itself is lined.
This is Gazachen, our housemaid, dressed in the shawl and white gauzy dress, and me, not to be trusted in a white dress.
Okay, yes — I had a dress, too. Did I pose well for photos? No.
This is my oldest daughter wearing my old dress. (And one of her brothers photo-bombing)
I still have all these dresses. What to do with them?!?
A few years ago I did the A-to-Z Challenge using collages I had made alongside unfinished limericks. I especially enjoyed the unfinished limerick part. It was very audience-participation-ish.
This year I thought I would try using old photographs and unfinished limericks. Can you finish this limerick?
Hot Dogs and Marmalade 