A Picture from the Past

The assignment is based on using a picture from the past and telling its story. Implied was the idea that it was perhaps a picture with someone no longer with us. I began by thinking about my grandmother, who I adored, how my appreciation for her increased after her death. Then, I remembered this picture, taken about thirty years ago, of Paul and me, still sitting in my living room.

It’s special to me, in part because Paul (still) doesn’t like to dance, but he danced with me that evening. When I look at this picture, I can feel the love between us. The circumstances were special, too. I had been recently promoted to manager at Price Waterhouse and this was the first partner-manager dinner-dance meeting in which I was included, at the elegant Four Seasons hotel. I had reached a new echelon, which I had never anticipated. After all, I came from a family without college degrees, I had not started college until I was thirty, and I was in a “man’s” field, technology.

So, for this evening, I had chosen my clothing very carefully. That special velvet jacket was expensive and still hangs in my closet, long out-dated, but I haven’t been able to part with it. Paul was handsomely dressed, with more hair on his head than now, feeling proud of me.

During the dinner part of the festivities, some of the partners, highly skilled at oral communications, worked at conversation with Paul. They, used to talking with business owners and entrepreneurs, were at a loss for words after learning that Paul’s work was as a carpenter and builder. I liked these partners and it was apparent to me, too, that they had little prior experience conversing with a carpenter. It was not a comfortable situation for Paul, despite his high intelligence and extensive reading background.

Recently, at an Irish celebration that included dance, with a little coaxing, Paul danced with me again. Someone snapped this picture, so much like the first, yet so different.

Our clothing is certainly more casual. If I had known that there were any chance of pictures, I would have dressed quite differently. Even so, it would not have been like that first picture. I was not trying to impress anyone, not trying to live up to or surpass others’ expectations. Despite the overly casual clothing, the love between us is the same, maybe even deeper. After all, Paul doesn’t like to dance, even this waltz, but he did anyway, because of his love for me. And, we continue to look deeply at each other.

Copyright 2024