These pictures were taken with a small Polaroid Swinger camera I received for Christmas one year.
This picture is of the flooding street in front of our apartment. The street used to flood all the time. We had a Volkswagon Beetle. Dad would call the insurance company each time it flooded. Later, if it looked like rain, we often moved the car to the end of the street where it was too high to flood
This is Henry Findley (eating) and Greg Plyler who lived in the apartments. Henry often organized football and was a pool lifeguard for a while.
This is a picture of some of us kids playing Monopoly. From left to right are Greg Plyler, Mike McDowell, Don Ricks (an adult with a terrible lisp. he is watching professional wrestling on his small TV, unseen here. Mr. Ricks did a lot of things with us kids. He was an odd man.), and Ricky McPherson.
This is my niece Debbie. This was the small tree in our yard. There was a larger tree to the right. In the background over her shoulder is a tree that I am very familiar with. Later, when I was a teen, I used to sit under this tree late at night, against the brick wall, and listen to "Beaker Street" from some far away station in Little Rock, Ark. I would stay up late into the night and listen on my little transister radio to "underground" music. Across the street, is the area that contained the pool. If you look carefully you can see evergreen bushes. This marks the fence that went around the pool. The fence is also visible. Debbie was a beautiful little girl and is now a very beautiful lady. I am two years older than Debbie.
This is "Swanzy" who worked at the "Handy Andy" convenience store next to the gas station on the corner of Court Street and Delano. Behind the gas station was a large mountain of tires. We used to play on this mountain of tires, which was infested with mosquitos at a certain time of year. I remember learning that lesson very well.
This is my father reading my Mad magazine. Behind him is the air conditioner in the window and the back door to the right. Mother had beautiful curtains on the back door. The wall has the familiar plant holders on it, and behind this wall was the kitchen.
This is my father sitting with my nephew Scott. Scott was holding my cat, which did not like to be held. And Dad is holding Fritz, Scott's Dachshund. I'm not sure who named "Fritz" but I'll guess it was Mickey, Scott's father. Of course, it is a German name for a German hound. I'm also fairly certain this was the Christmas I received my camera. :)
This is my father sleeping on the bed. After retiring, Dad drove a taxi at night. He would often be sleeping like this in the daytime in his work clothes.
This is my Mother. She is probably in Illinois in this picture standing in front of tomato plants, I believe. She was very healthy at this point. She is wearing a pair of sandals I remember so well.
Found "Beaker Street" on Wikipedia!
Holy heck! Beaker Street was vastly important. I listened to it for years and years until FM started playing album oriented rock, just like it says in the article. WHHY-FM was what I listened to after that, later to become Y-102. No wonder I have the tastes I do in music. Beaker Street was one of the first underground radio broadcasts. That is amazing.
