Legacy Writing 365:304

There’s a box of photos that belonged to my mother that I forget that I have. Looking through it today, I found more photos from when I lived in that rural area I mentioned in a post a couple of days ago. It was a good meeting place for my family, pretty much equal distance from the various cities where they were all living at the time (except David, who was already living out West then). I found this photo of Debby still in her nightgown one morning, looking as if she’s being edged off the chair by her cat Casey Sid Vicious.

I include this picture mostly because I think Lynne may be the only person who’ll remember those bizarre and mostly unidentifiable animals on the shelf behind Debby. There were more of them than are pictured here. I bought them at World Bazaar in Birmingham and called them “the ugliest animals in the world.” I don’t know where they were imported from, but they had real animal hair and amateurishly painted faces–almost as if the painting were done by small children (likely) with nail polish (or some paint containing lead, no doubt). I kept those things forever until I was finally shamed into throwing them away by everyone who was repulsed by their hideousness. Poor ugly animals; I loved you.

In that same batch of pictures is one of Josh, Gina, and Sarah’s father. I include it because there’s that ashtray I made in art class that my mother ended up breaking. Remember how I said I never used it as an ashtray? The fact that it’s on the table by her cigarette case is proof that she was always dragging that thing out against my wishes. Stubborn old woman.