Florida Convoy, Summer 1956

Several images from a Florida vacation that my Grandparents took with my Mom and Uncle Kevin.  Also in tow on this trip were my Great Uncle Richard and Great Aunt Marion, as well as their growing brood.  I keep coming back to how simple (yet rich with feeling) these outings were.  Traveling with children was very expensive, so road-tripping in two cars and staying in guest bungalows at motor inns was the cheapest option.  As modest as the accomodations and modes of transport were, it was a diversion from the every day for the kids and a welcome getaway for hard-working parents who needed a break, a change of scenery and a walk on the beach.  

Side Note:  I love the fact that tucked away among these scenes of family togetherness, there was this one isolated image depicting three anonymous bathing beauties making their way down the shoreline.  Perhaps my Grandfather just wanted to capture some "local color" for posterity...  I'm sure it was just a National Geographic moment.

1950s Snowball Sequence

This slide from the winter of 1956 - 1957 was marked "neighbor's kids" and shows the terraced backyards of the two-family homes on Hoyt Avenue in Staten Island.

Here, my mother (at left) and Uncle Kevin look sweet as pie, but it wouldn't last long, folks... 

Something tells me a stray snowball from the neighbor's kids intervened and inspired the following...

I can just hear my grandfather saying, "OK now, Kevin... Kevin!  KEVIN!!! STOP THAT!!!"

OOF!  That had to hurt, Mom.  Someone looks like they could use a Nestle's cocoa.

Let the record show that my grandfather stayed back with camera at the ready and recorded this snowball assault for posterity.  I must say I'm a bit amused that he kept shooting and didn't intervene.

 Note To Mom:  It's OK... You were a total cutie pie here.

Kevin and Kathleen get the last laugh... "HA! Take THAT, Dad!"

1957 Times Square: The Sweet Smell Of Success

Several stills from another NYC film great: Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis' dual-star vehicle called "The Sweet Smell Of Success".  The Times Square we see here (1956 - 1957) is decidedly less grimy than the one depicted in later film fare, but the latter-day film noir touches used here create a moody foreshadowing of the dark times this district would see a decade later.