The Old and the New
There is a picture that my family considers precious, especially my grandmother who is entering her second month of hospice care. The Jeep entered family treasure, not just because it was a hobby of my uncle and grampa, but because of the Independence Day Parade in Whitmore Lake, in 1984. Gramma bought me, my brothers, and two of my cousins kid-sized army fatigues to wear while we rode in the Jeep with Grampa driving and my uncle Bobby (a young man at this point) looking glum and wishing was anywhere but in the company of his nephews.
This is us, the big guy on the left is not me, but sometimes the resemblance can be uncanny.
Soon after I got The Jeep running, I had this idea to "recreate" this family photo with most of the great-grands, complete with some in fatigues and some not. My brother, A. who lives with Gramma and coincidentally works next door to me, told me that she was not doing so well, and given some crazy schedules that were coming up for the next two weeks, the window to get my boys, him, and his boy together was closing fast, so we gave it a shot
And here we are:
(Yes, I know I am wearing a helmet, not a soft cover, I could not find it as we staged this photo in between heavy rain squalls. And we are taking Uncle Bobby's foot and replacing it with a full picture of A.)
One technical note is that no matter how iconic it was, the jerry can holder was never supposed to be present on the stamped-body Willys and Ford, so until they discontinued that practice (at government insistence) in September 1942, their brand was easily seen and no gas can hung alongside the also-iconic off-center spare tire.
I went to Target to print it off and to buy a frame for it, then gave it A. to present to Gramma the next day. She was, in a word, touched.
Well, when I dropped by after work soon after she had received it, she was still in tears. She told me at my wedding that I so very much reminded her of her long-departed husband, my Grampa, in looks, bearing, and nature. Pictures like this one warmed her heart. I know that this picture will remain with her for the remaining days of her life, and it was well-worth the cost in terms of money (for the uniform items), frustration (in terms of getting The Jeep to run, again), and worry (that there was not enough time to pull this off). I know that it is the sappiest kind of sentimentality, but for the family matriarch deserves at least this token of our love, and certainly more.
This is us, the big guy on the left is not me, but sometimes the resemblance can be uncanny.
Soon after I got The Jeep running, I had this idea to "recreate" this family photo with most of the great-grands, complete with some in fatigues and some not. My brother, A. who lives with Gramma and coincidentally works next door to me, told me that she was not doing so well, and given some crazy schedules that were coming up for the next two weeks, the window to get my boys, him, and his boy together was closing fast, so we gave it a shot
And here we are:
(Yes, I know I am wearing a helmet, not a soft cover, I could not find it as we staged this photo in between heavy rain squalls. And we are taking Uncle Bobby's foot and replacing it with a full picture of A.)
One technical note is that no matter how iconic it was, the jerry can holder was never supposed to be present on the stamped-body Willys and Ford, so until they discontinued that practice (at government insistence) in September 1942, their brand was easily seen and no gas can hung alongside the also-iconic off-center spare tire.
I went to Target to print it off and to buy a frame for it, then gave it A. to present to Gramma the next day. She was, in a word, touched.
Well, when I dropped by after work soon after she had received it, she was still in tears. She told me at my wedding that I so very much reminded her of her long-departed husband, my Grampa, in looks, bearing, and nature. Pictures like this one warmed her heart. I know that this picture will remain with her for the remaining days of her life, and it was well-worth the cost in terms of money (for the uniform items), frustration (in terms of getting The Jeep to run, again), and worry (that there was not enough time to pull this off). I know that it is the sappiest kind of sentimentality, but for the family matriarch deserves at least this token of our love, and certainly more.