Because I adore projects, and because it’s easier than writing, I spent some time yesterday scanning old pictures into the computer. Now, M is a picture fanatic (in the best sense), so we have what seems like a good hundred thousand of them, but those weren’t the pictures I was working on.
I wanted records of the REALLY old ones. Like this one:
The little girl in front, the one in white, is my grandmother, Alma. My dad’s mother. She’s with her sisters, brother, and parents on the farm.
But I got to thinking about it, as I was scanning things in and puzzling over heredity—I’ve always thought I looked more like my Dad’s side of the family: short, square-jawed, earthy and one might say hobbity people. So, I started looking at faces, and then I pulled out my baby books and found some kind of interesting ones. See for yourself:
This is M and her mother, Grandma Ward
And here is the M and I, when I was about ten.
This, on the other hand, is my father at about five:
Interesting, no? I even have his ears. And eyes and teeth, I think.
This is M and her older sister Ann:
And this is me, with Grandpa Ward (M’s pop) beaming in his tweedy way
Of course, munchkin ages often look alike, and when you throw in the short razored bangs, it’s even more similar. But, here’s another set:
The couple on my left are Eric James and Agnes (Wynn) McKiddie, my dad’s mom’s parents. The picture of me was taken a few years ago, but yeah, I pretty much look the same now. I’ve stared at these pictures before (actually, I have the picture of my great-grandparents on a shelf in my bedroom), but at the moment the similarity I find most eerie is that my great-grandmother and I both have one eyebrow that naturally arches and one that’s flat. I used to find the asymmetry more annoying than otherwise, but it’s kind of happy to me now.
It’s fun to trace similarities in old faces, but wouldn’t it be even more interesting if we could do that with personality traits and values and thought patterns too? I would like to know if it’s just my face or if there’s more of me that I’ve inherited from past generations of Armstrongs and Wards and Littlers and McKiddies and Wynns and Curries and Stantons. I’d like to know.
So, I must betake myself off to badger the M for more stories of the glorious past… well, and also clean the house and shower and other important activities. But, speaking of the M, I rather love this picture, and so shall sign off with it. (The drooling one is, yes, me).
