Judi Geake

For almost twenty years a series of pictures of my husband Howard and our first grandson Greg have hung on the wall of my house. The photos shown here on the left were taken at Northbrook Court in suburban Chicago. Greg, who was three or four at the time, is getting married on October 8th. I intend to give it to him as a wedding present.

Almost fifty years ago, when Greg’s dad--our son David--was about the same age, I had a series of pictures of him and his older brother Jim framed.  These are the photos on the right.  Though taken half a century apart, young Greg and young David have the exact expressions and movement in these photos.

Every time I look at the pictures of Howard and Greg shown here, I’m reminded that BOTH personalities were not always as they appeared.  Greg was occasionally a sullen child.  He was slow to smile and often withheld a smile altogether when there was a camera present.  Howard was called “Grumpa” by all the grandchildren; he had the reputation of being a curmudgeon, a rather sullen adult. 

In these photos, however, something Howard said struck him and Greg as very funny, and I just happened to have my camera ready. I don’t remember what triggered these pictures. I was probably focused more on capturing the moment on film than remembering the occasion. 

I do, however, remember what triggered the older pictures of my two sons. Jim was telling David a joke that contained what he thought was a swear word, “ass”, and tried to keep his brother from repeating it in front of me. Again, I was fortunate to have had a camera ready and was able to capture the moment. 

The pictures of Howard and Greg always recall the photos of Jim and David. After I give the pictures to Greg for his wedding, I hope he and his wife, Sydney, will hang them somewhere in their new apartment as a reminder that there was aways a happy little boy hidden under Greg’s sometimes grumpy childhood face, and there was always a funny grandfather behind the often “grumpy” grandfather facade.