The Honeymooners

Yachats, Oregon:   Late October early November  1956.  

"One of these Days Alice, BAM, zoom to the moon"   No, it’s not Ralph and Alice Kramden of the legendary sitcom.  Although it was a time when the hint of domestic violence was considered comedy gold.    Nope it’s just…..

Rod and Ellie on their honeymoon late October, early November 1956.   

I found myself looking backward a little bit more this summer.  I guess that’s normal when one’s father passes away, but I’m a history monkey so thumbing through Mom’s endless stack of photo albums has been far from a sad experience.  In fact, it’s been an somewhat of an awakening.  I think I’ve come to understand who my parents really were and apparently, yes apparently, they were people too.   

I recently painted a couple of photos which caught my eye earlier this year.  I came to see these images as more than just old photos of my parents.   I saw these as images of two young people taking snapshots of each other while on their honeymoon – something every newly married couple has done since the compact camera was invented.

What makes these images unique is how subtly they unveil aspects of their personalities I would come to know very well.  Putting myself in the shoes of the “photographer” I envisioned Mom casually coaxing her new husband to slide over to capture the surf of the Pacific Ocean as a backdrop.  Cliché yes, but very romantic and very Mom.  Now when it’s Dad’s turn, he takes a different approach.  He has Mom move forward and he moves backward so as to capture his beautiful young bride, the ocean and… his CAR.   Yes that big yellow thing is Dad’s beloved car.  He got everything in one shot.  Very Dad.  Love is indeed a very splendid thing. 

It was late October – early November 1956.  The Ten Commandments and Giant opened.  Elvis released “Love Me Tender.”  The Summer Olympics were going on because they were “down under” in Melbourne.  Floyd Patterson knocked out Archie Moore to become the youngest Heavyweight Champion ever, Don Larsen pitched a perfect game in the World Series, Tommy Dorsey choked on some food and died and Eisenhower/Nixon were re-elected.  More importantly my parents, Rod & Ellie, began their 55 year marriage at the Adobe Motel in Yachats, Oregon.  A place they would stay every October/November for years to come.