Volkswagen Cousins

Daddy Saturdays Usually Meant Fun...

especially if our adventures included the 1960 VW convertible...and most especially if the Bug was pointed to the Aquatic Club pool, packed with a picnic lunch. For the 1963 summer Saturday preserved here, our first cousins accompanied Beth and me -- a rare treat. Tom, the youngest of our foursome, had been up to some unremembered, but most assuredly wild antics. The unreserved grins that my younger sister and I sported hinted at his mischief, and his own proud smile confirmed it. Will, always the soberer of those two, patiently waited for Tom to finish so that Grandad could snap the picture. When we finally puttered out of the driveway, Daddy revved the engine, and the convertible wind spread bigger smiles on our five, six, and eight year-old faces. Today, almost 46 years later, I don't know what Tom did to entertain us, only that he did.

I love this picture...everything about it: the sepia tone, the car, my young Dad, our summery towheads and suntanned arms, glimpses of a whitewall tire, Raybans, nubby bathing suits, lanky arms and unashamed, pooched bellies, the boys' crew cuts, my sister's ever-present ponytail, my own untamed hair, and the outline of my grandmother's camellia bushes. Even the streaks on the picture serve to remind me of Grandad pulling the print out of the Polaroid camera, waving it around in an effort to speed the development process, and finally rolling on the fixative to stop the development. Mainly, though, I love the dancing eyes above those grins.