Tag: Lila Perry Steinhoff

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The Anniversary Card

Anniversary card envelope

I was sleeping the sleep of the just this morning when I heard a movement over by my computer. It was Wife Lila, on her way to church, leaving something. “Go back to sleep, she said.”

When I achieved consciousness some time later. (We won’t admit to how much later.) I immediately recognized what it was.

Anniversary card

Anniversary cardAs near as we could piece together, she remembered buying this card when Son Adam was into radio controlled cars when he was 10 or 12 years old. He’ll turn 33 July 7, so that makes this card at least 20 years old.

We forget to celebrate

Anniversary card 2

I described last year why I can never remember our anniversary date of June 23: Buddy Bob Rogers asked when we were going to get married. (Lila and me, not Bob and me.) I told Bob to name a date; he picked June 27. That didn’t work out for some reason, so June 23 was the alternate. (Lila was standing there, so it’s not like she didn’t have any input.)

But, I’m not the only one who forgets the date, hence the card. So long as it’s around, we don’t have to make a mad dash to the store to pick one up at the last minute. On top of that, cards are expensive these days. I bet we’ve saved close to a couple hundred bucks on cards by recycling this one. (I mean, you wouldn’t expect her to spring for a cheap one, would you?)

Five years ago she included a photo of me with Grandson Malcolm. I had been on a bike ride and had hooked up with them at Dreher Park in West Palm Beach. Malcolm insisted on climbing a hill in the park, then wanted a drink out of my Camelbak hydration pack.

He’s almost as tall as his grandmother these days, and we have two more of the most perfect grandsons in the world.

It’s been a good run. I can’t wait to get the card again next year. (And, thanks for letting me sleep.) She – and it – become more special every year.

Game plan is to head back to Cape noonish on Monday. See you all there. I’ll have a bunch of calendars for anyone interested in Cape. I’ll let you know where you can pick them up if you are there. If you would like one mailed, hold off a few days. Lila says she’ll play postal person when she gets back in town after the 4th of July.

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A Pie Sale?

Girardot picture saleThe negative sleeve said “Pie sale, but I couldn’t imagine a pie sale generating this big a crowd.

Well, it turned out to be either a piece of bad handwriting on my part (or a piece of bad reading). It actually said “pic sale,” as in “picture sale.” The Girardot yearbook staff was selling leftover photos after the final deadline was met, setting off a mad scramble.

My internal facial recognition software in woefully inadequate. Wife Lila and her yearbooks help put some names to faces – Jane Coile and Joe Snell, for two. The girl in the middle who is looking at the camera is driving me crazy. I know her face, but I can’t think of her name to save myself.

Please excuse the dust spots

Girardot picture saleThe film was in pretty bad shape, so I gave up after getting most of the spots off faces. (Sorry for missing a spot on your nose, Margaret.)

There’s an interesting mix of students here. I think Rick Meinz, Class of ’64 is on the left, Joe Snell, Class of 65 has his back to the camera, and Margaret Randol and Bill East, Class of ’66 are on the right.

Photographic feeding frenzy

Girardot picture saleI can’t believe how many people showed up to look through the photos. Names I am willing to guess on include Diane Meystedt, Jane Coile, Bob Swaim and Susan Welker. You’re going to have to fill in the rest.

You can make the photos larger by clicking on them.

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Bill Cosby in Concert

Bill Cosby Ohio University 02-09-1969SEMO Classmate, photo buddy and, eventually, best man, Andy McLean introduced me to Bill Cosby. Andy had every Cosby LP every pressed and had memorized every routine until he could do them better than Cosby.

So, when I had a chance to see Cosby in concert at Ohio University in 1969, I snagged two tickets for Fiance Lila and me. We had a front-row seat for his performance in the round (OK, it was in the square, but I didn’t do all that hot in geometry, so I didn’t quibble).

Unusual experience

Bill Cosby Ohio University 02-09-1969This was an unusual concert for me. Usually I’m so busy shooting the show from every angle, including the overhead catwalks, that the actual performance is a blur to me. Well, my pictures are sharp, but my memory of what the artist performed is fuzzy. This time, though, I enjoyed the performance as a civilian. I still shot pictures from my seat, but I got to enjoy the show.

Depending on your generation, you may remember Cosby as Fat Albert, Cliff Huxtable or the guy who pitched Jell-O, but he’ll always be Noah to me.

“Come around, Idiot, Come around”

Bill Cosby Ohio University 02-09-1969Cosby’s routine about driving a stick shift in San Fransisco resonated with me. See, Athens is said to be built on seven hills, and some of them are ungodly steep. Usually with a stop sign at the top of them.

I had never driven a manual transmission before, but I wanted a Volkswagen Squareback. I bought the car and trusted that Lila could teach me how to drive it. Trust me, if your girlfriend can teach you to drive a stick and still be willing to marry you, then you better snatch her up.

There was one killer hill (with a stop sign) on the way from the house to the office. She taught me the technique of pushing the clutch down with my left foot, putting my right foot on the gas, holding up on the emergency brake with my right hand, and frantically waving my left arm out the window while shouting, like Cosby, “Come around, Idiot, Come around.”

Did he cut it short?

Bill Cosby Concert Ohio University 02-09-1969I had a coworker on The OU Post who thought Cosby had cheated the audience by putting on a short show. If it WAS shorter than usual, the audience around me didn’t seem to mind.

Well, maybe Andy could have done it better, but I was pleased with the performance.

Other performances

I was telling someone the other day that I’m embarrassed to have shot a bunch of performances and paid so little attention to them that I don’t know if they were famous or not when I run across the negatives. Here are some I DO remember:

Bill Cosby photo gallery

Click on any photo to make it larger, then click on the left or right side of the image to move through the gallery.

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SEMO Through a Long Lens

SEMO Academic Hall

Cape was a Honeywell Pentax town. I’m not sure if Nowell’s Camera Shop even sold Nikon. When I left town, I had two or three camera bodies and at least three lenses: a 35mm wideangle, a 50mm normal lens, a 105mm telephoto and (I think) a 200 mm telephoto.

The 105mm magnified about two times and the 200, about four times.

This shot of Academic Hall taken from in front of Kent Library in 1966 or 1967 was probably done with the 200mm. Click on the photos to make them larger.

Closeup of dome

SEMO Academic HallIf you couldn’t afford a long lens, you could buy extenders that would effectively increase the length of the lens by two to three times. The tradeoff was that it made the lens a lot slower and there was some degradation in quality. I’m guessing I must have just gotten a 2X extender to make this shot of the dome. It would have converted my 200 into a 400mm lens, which would have magnified about eight times.

This caused some head scratching

SEMO Academic HallThis one had me calling in Wife Lila and Neighbor Jacqie for second and third opinions. This is south and west of SEMO. As best as I can figure it out, I must have shot it from one of the hills around Gordonville Road with the extender reaching out into the distance.

Academic Hall is easy to pick out in the middle. The water tower and smokestack to its left are at the university’s power plant north of Academic Hall. The white building at the top left is the Foreign Languages Building. The large building below and to the left of Academic hall is Southeast Hospital.

Jacqie and I thought the building on the left above the Riverside West sign was Central High School, but after looking at the photo more closely, I determined that Central is the dark, multistory building on the far right. That makes the building on the left a mystery. Anybody want to make a guess? Did Notre Dame have that shape?

Academic Hall links

Here are links to earlier stories about Academic Hall.

 

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