The photograph of my Mother and Father in the 1952 MG TD in front of Buckingham Palace keeps showing up. This time nestled in an old family photo album. It was one of many loose photos stuck inside of the front and back covers. The album itself housed pictures mostly of Paul & Lynn (before I was born)… but there were shots of Mom & Dad, Mommie Soph, Bubie Lena, my Cousin Paula and other members of my extended family. Towards the back of the book even I made an appearance.
The photos were held in place by those tiny little black triangles that my Mother would glue down. Although in some cases the glue had dried out, and a few of the photos in some way had slipped from their moorings. Above a few photos, my Mother’s clear and precise printing: “Labor Day – Sept – 1945” or “Sept 46” or “Morty Beroza”.
The last time the “MG” photo surfaced was a little over two years ago. Tiny had the photo amongst her family memorabilia and passed it along to Lynn. That version of the snapshot carried the inscription on the reverse side in my Mother’s distinctive cursive script.
Having seen a copy of the photograph itself many times before, it was the inscription that captured me. Not the content of the inscription; but rather the very strokes and curves of her handwriting… the expression of her hand.
And now, the same photograph, but larger, and on its reverse side this time is my Father’s handwritten inscription:
“Lynn, Paul & Jimmie
Here it is our little red beauty outside of Buckingham Palace. July 1st my Birthday. Mother and I are truly as happy as we look and having lots of fun. You will love the MG and can’t wait to give you a run and show you its wonderful easy handling. I can see Paul & Lynn driving it a few years from now. Jimmie will have to keep to trucks + buses.
Love Mommie + Dad”
It’s been a while since I have seen my Father’s handwriting… his hand. His “L”s, “D”s, “F”s and “G”s have these wonderful loops that give roundness to his script. It lacked Mom’s precision; but I think reflected his character well… readable, yet whimsical… something that would play well to sentiment.
This is also the first time in decades since seeing the variant spelling of my name… Jimmie with an “ie” instead of “y”. Both my Mom and Dad would use this from time to time… alternating the spelling form “ie” to “y”. But maybe when this was written (I was only three), they hadn’t decided how to spell my nick name? For sure, I only spelled my name with a “y”, and certainly by the time I went to Union “ie” was no longer in use (not even by my Mom).
Well… it’s good to see my Dad’s handwriting again. I can hear his voice behind the words… hear the chuckle, too.
Yes, we all got to love the MG.
And 53 years after its original penning, I love seeing my Father’s hand just as much.