Here’s my birth certificate from Our Lady of the Lake Hospital. I spent my first six weeks or so in an incubator. In The Z I said I was was born on Halloween, but close enough. Mom did, however, always say she was looking at the clock when I was born; whatever that means, I don’t know.
Anyway, I went by various names in the early days because I was the Second and Pop; well, was THE Bill in the family. They didn’t want to call me “Junior,” so at first they called me, “Bud.” Gramm always called me Billbo (sure glad that one didn’t stick). The next photo is in our driveway at 2424 Cottonwood. Excuse me, but you can nix the cute little baubles on the steering wheel – might fool other kids, but not this one. . . .
Thank goodness, Mom got the message and saved me from that evil contraption.
Well, actually, Mom – can you just put me down? I’m too old for this cuddling thing. (Boy and you thought my glasses were ugly. And, hey – she has hair, too.)
I suppose things were pretty normal back then. I wore glasses for a while, then grew out of them (and they back again as I got – old). I had braces when we were in Spain – then had to get them AGAIN when we got back to the States.
Yeah, I did have a temper at times, especially when people tried to take my picture. This one is in our side yard at 2424 Cottonwood. I suppose were were playing softball there one evening after supper and I got relegated to left field – again.
Here’s a pix of my three older sisters. Cute, huh? Yeah – right. . .
Here’s a photo of the gang a few years later.
I’m not quite sure why they took a posed photo of me all beat up like that.
Okay, that’s better. Thank’s ya’ll. But – can we do a little something with the hair? As in GROW IT?? I may not have it for long, you know.
Here’s my first passport photo, on the way to Germany (then Sicily). Oh, boy – this kid’s got – HAIR! Happy days!
You’ll note in The Z how my evil sisters would trim my hair in a Mohawk or put a bowl on my head for an Adam’s Family special. So maybe it’s better if we stick with the short look.
Here’s a photo in the front yard of Nurilliar in El Grao. The house came with a gardener, but I think we didn’t leave him much grass to trim with his hand clippers.
I’m not sure of the following photo. It makes me think of church, perhaps at the Sunrise Service they held at LSU every year for Easter. This is Pop (who didn’t like church any more than I did) and I, not at all happy after Christ has Risen. LOL. It looks like I’m wearing one of Pop’s suit coats.
I always had an affinity for turtles. Back home in Baton Rouge, I netted (mostly little) turtles in City Park Lake a couple of blocks away. This seems to be a somewhat large one, hence the photo – and my look; you’re going to make me bring him back, aren’t you? Like you made me do with my duck Robert.
Doesn’t hurt to have some moral support, now does it? What do you mean, Christopher Robin isn’t on my side? Of course, she is.
Things were going so well then – boom! – along came John Wesley, my younger brother. I was age 10 at the time. No matter. I had hair now! (This time it was Leigh Erin who ended up with the bowl haircut).
Here’s a photo of the famous Juan the barber outside his barbershop in El Grao, Spain. Would you look at that? They let John have more hair than I ever had at his age! Groove them short pants.
This last photo makes me think of a flag football game we had at Notre Dame International School for Boys in Rome. I was captain of the team. . . . ran out to catch a ball for the winning touchdown . . .
BOOM! I dropped the pass . . . And the good Franciscan Brothers took this photo??
(I believe that’s my friend Tommy Arbor behind me with the look of exasperation – the quarterback who tossed the pass – the perennial New Orleans Saints fan. . . Well, what did you expect, dummy?)
But, hey. Not my fault. My hair got in my eyes!