mumby road

  • Eden Rock + Charles Causley

    They are waiting for me somewhere beyond Eden
Rock:
My father, twenty-five, in the same suit
Of Genuine Irish Tweed, his terrier Jack
Still two years old and trembling at his feet.
    

    My mother, twenty-three, in a sprigged dress
Drawn at the waist, ribbon in her straw hat,
Has spread the stiff white cloth over the grass.
Her hair, the colour of wheat, takes on the light.
    

    She pours tea from a Thermos, the milk straight
From an old H.P. sauce-bottle, a screw
Of paper for a cork; slowly sets out
The same three plates, the tin cups painted blue.
    

    The sky whitens as if lit by three suns.
My mother shades her eyes and looks my way
Over the drifted stream. My father spins
A stone along the water. Leisurely,
    

    They beckon to me from the other bank.
I hear them call, ‘See where the stream-path is!
Crossing is not as hard as you might think.’
    

    I had not thought that it would be like this.

  • Love Can Last

    a bride and groom in a limousine

    21 June 1980

    friendly looking older couple

    45 years

  • All the Feels

    Today is the 40th birthday of my first-born and the 78th anniversary of my parents' wedding. Kind of dusty in here.

    Auto-generated description: A smiling couple dressed formally is sitting at a table adorned with flowers.

    Dad & Mom

  • Ventura County in Shadow

    Auto-generated description: Palms and trees are silhouetted against a twilight sky with a hint of light along the horizon.

    šŸ“·

  • Curves at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden
    šŸ“·

    A large fountain is in the foreground with a grassy park and a tall building in the background, surrounded by blooming trees and people walking.

  • “Circus Dogs”

    Auto-generated description: Several puppies are gathered around a drum, with one sitting on top of it, in a dimly lit setting.

    This painting hung in my mom and dad’s house for 60 years or more. Now it’s my sister’s. Artist unknown. I love it. šŸ¶

  • Easter in Brooklyn

    St. John’s Park Slope: wonderful! Alleluia! The Lord is risen!

  • Rule Follower

    I was recently inducted as a new member of the Grandparents Club. Per the club handbook, within 24 hours, I’d changed my phone’s lockscreen to a picture of the baby. (I’m smitten.)

  • Grade-A stocking stuffer

    A toy shaped like a dog, with an accordion-fold torso allowing odd shapes

  • Two-dog Christmas

    Auto-generated description: A person with glasses sits on a red chair, smiling and holding a fluffy dog, with another dog wearing a sweater standing on the couch in the background.
  • Two years
    My mom died September 1, 2022: 4 months and 4 days shy of her 99th birthday.
    I think of her and Dad all the time. The best is when they're in my dreams.
    Color photo of an old woman with white hair and an active expression

  • RER

    Eight years since my dad died. It’s so great when he’s in one of my dreams.

  • Maggie
    As an adult, my family has had three dogs. Sweet, sweet Maggie (officially, Margaret Rose) was the first.

    Early Maggie (and early kids):
    Three kids and and a sweet dog

    Late Maggie:
    A sweet dog

  • CER
    Woman in a white and patterned dress and sunglasses standing in a Brooklyn street with the Brooklyn Bridge in the background.

    My favorite Brooklynite.

  • save family photos

    My dad, cousin, and sister, circa 1990. (I’m guessing). I love this pic. Nice sweater(?), sis!

    An older man, a middle-aged man, and a younger woman at a picnic.
  • Who? Hoot.
  • Christmas scenes 2023

  • ewr (1923-2022)

    Old sepia-toned photo of a happy little girl in a wagon holding a parasol. Today, this little girl would have been 100 years old.

  • FOTB
    A few days late, but having happy Father-of-the-Bride memories from 1-year-plus-a-few-days ago. It's a great thing to like your sons-in-law. Nay & Cait. Bride and Groom in Brooklyn sharing a 'swoony' kiss
  • Precious

    My true love and our first-born (at Bemelmans Bar in the Carlyle, NYC – also precious in its own way!) šŸ“· Mother and grown daughter with their heads together in a golden-glowed NY bar

  • one year

    My mom died a year ago today, three months short of her 99th birthday. She was a time-traveler. Her death is still difficult to get my head around. She was a vibrant, fun, and intelligent woman, and I miss her a lot, even though she was in my life for a long time. Mom and Dad in their prime:

    An elegant mature man and woman, husband and wife.
  • Manly
    "As I get older, I find that I care more and more about being a good man and less and less about career stuff. I think a lot of it is just a product of age. But the fact that Iā€™m the last survivor of the family I grew up in plays a significant part. When my mom passed away last October, the only guide for how I behaved was asking myself how my parents would want me to deal with it..." -- Jonah Goldberg, ["In Defense of Manly Tears," Aug 4, 2023](https://thedispatch.activehosted.com/index.php?action=social&chash=7fb8ceb3bd59c7956b1df66729296a4c.1661&nosocial=1) šŸ’¬
  • Happy Birthday to this (T)ACLLEH!
  • june seventh
    Happy Birthday to this one:

    Firstborn.

    Happy Anniversary to these two:

    Miss them.

  • love this photo šŸ¶

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