The Terrible Catsafterme

Brad's Musings and Meanderings

random acts of quoting

"Whoops! I just took the square root of it." - Harely Estin, "Newhart"

76d6.jpgThe Fall of 1976 is virtually lost to the ages. There appears to be no recorded evidence of my fifth birthday, Halloween, or Thanksgiving. I’m sure that having a new child roaming around stirred up enough excitement and picture-taking opportunities for everyone. Just so Denise doesn’t get too cocky in thinking that she is much younger than me, this proves that there existed black and white snapshots of her as a baby as well.

76d7.jpg

 Denise plays with the ashtray under the coffee table

76d5.jpg

 Denise is permitted to play with my puzzle (and her shoe)…

76d8.jpg

 …which didn’t sit too well with me

Yes, Denise was seemingly getting the bulk of the attention. However there was one event that took place during the Fall of ’76 which solely focussed on me and which I still recall to this day. I loved to get outside and ride my bike and naturally being just five years old, my bike had training wheels on it. One day I got the notion that I wanted to try and ride without the training wheels. My parents warned me that if they took them off, they were not putting them back on. I agreed and was soon attempting my first ‘solo flight’. I still recall the jubilation of the wind blowing in my face as I sailed across the front lawn on just two wheels. I don’t think I’ve ever had a prouder moment of accomplishment in all my life.

As we got ready for the holiday season – Denise’s first one ever – I spent some of  my time out in the snow with neighborhood girls Andrea Ferrenberg and Carol Applegate crafting the world’s ugliest and most ridiculous snowman in the history of snowmankind. (Saturday mornings however still resonated indoors with my favorite cartoons like Bugs Bunny, the live action Monster Squad, and periodic interruptions of In the News).

76d4.jpg

 Me and our hunk-o-junk snowman

76d2.jpg

 Me, Carol Applegate, and Andrea Ferrenberg find fun in the back of Dad’s pickup truck

76d.jpg

Andrea, Carol, and I show off our handiwork

76d3.jpg

 Virtually the same photo – with Carol’s hood down

And finally, as if the shots could get any more random or ridiculous, there is a cute family portrait of us. I believe that this was taken at Bill and Dottie’s house. Their family did a sitting in front of my Dad’s camera as well.

76d9.jpg

Our fine looking family and my fine looking shins

dec76.jpg

The concurrent photo of the other set of F*rrells

1976 will conclude with Christmas

5 Responses to “Denise in Black and White and Other Adventures From December 1976”

  1. Your snowman looks like one of The Herculoids….do you remember them?

    Dave Chasteen

  2. I’ve only had kidney stones. I’ve never experienced the Herculoids!

    Brad

  3. Good one! That picture brings back memories.

    Dave Chasteen

  4. Yes, you definitely don’t want to make your younger sibling too much younger…lol 😉

    Amber

  5. Yes, I remember that infamous snow-man. Maybe I just remember the pictures… Its hard to tell… I am getting old, you know.

    Andrea Ferrenberg

Leave a Reply