I'm coming across old photographs that evoke some really good memories. In 1960 I went to a jazz festival in Evansville, Indiana, and just across the aisle from our seats was the Dave Brubeck Quartet. I didn't catch Dave's picture, but I got Joe Morello, the drummer, and Eugene Wright, the base player. Also appearing at the festival were Dinah Washington, Benny Goodman, and Cannonball Adderly, but it was Dave's quartet that I remember so well.
I loved the jazz from the late 50's/early 60's, before every instrument was electrified and amplified to the point of bursting eardrums, and became too influenced by rock & roll for my taste.
In summer of 1959, when I was 18 years old, I went to Miami Beach. The only photo I took was certainly not even good photography, and is a shot taken from our hotel balcony during a storm, and shows the palm trees waving in the wind. Our hotel was right on the Atlantic Ocean. I vacationed with 3 girls in my carpool. All they wanted to do for the entire day was to work on their suntans. I've always hated being in direct sun, especially the strong Florida sun, so I never stayed on the beach for very long. I remember wandering around Miami Beach by myself quite a lot.
I had hoped to catch a flight to Havana and spend a weekend in Cuba, but since it was the one-year anniversary of the revolution, some guys from our hotel who had just come from Havana told me not to go - everything was in turmoil. When I've looked back on it over the years, it was the stupidest decision I ever made - to be talked out of that trip to Cuba, and I've always regretted it. Now that it might be possible to go, I don't know if I would want to do it alone and I certainly don't know of anyone who would go with me. I would love to go while Fidel still lives - I have always admired him and his overthrow of the brutal dictator (who was backed by the U.S. by the way). At least now all Cubans are entitled to health care, education, etc. I am sure the so-called "lower class" is much better off.
I probably shouldn't publish the above paragraph, but what the hell! I'm 75 yrs old and I will do and say what I want, which I've mostly done all my life but using a little more discretion because of my job. I'm retired now and I say I don't give a crap!
You can see the power of a photograph, even one that isn't all that well set up. The palm trees, ocean, and beach is the only picture I took during my entire trip! My Mother always insisted that a photo should have someone in it - not just scenery. I'm sure it was because film and developing cost money, and those who lived through the Depression were very conscious of avoiding waste.
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You should post the picture. BTW, I have no desire to travel to foreign countries. There is still a lot I have not seen here in the States. I have been in Canada but that was back in the '50s.
ReplyDeleteI guess I could scan and post it, but it isn't that good a picture. It brings memories to me but would be of little interest to anyone else.
DeleteI have always wanted to travel and see how others live; I was fortunate to be able to go to the Far East (Japan and Korea); Central America (El Salvador); Europe before the end of Communism (Czechoslovakia); and many European countries plus Iceland. I've been to Canada but not Mexico. I don't regret for a minute seeing these places, and this summer I will have visited all 50 states in the U.S. I'd say traveling to other countries makes me appreciate the U.S. even more, although I'm not one who thinks every other country should be like us.
I have no desire to leave the country unless it was to go to Canada. There is so much to see here and I haven't even seen 14 of it.
ReplyDeleteI rarely take pictures of people, I love nature.
I love nature as well, and have always enjoyed photographing natural scenes. However, in going through thousands of photos I've taken over the years, I realize that many of the nature photos I took mean nothing to me now - I don't recall where they were taken and the circumstances of my being there. In the final analysis, the photos of people are what matter to me.
DeleteI really don't have a desire to leave the country either, except I'd like to go over the border to Mexico. I've been to Canada sevral times. But the fact that I never got to make my trip to Cuba makes me wish I could do it now. I won't do it, of course; I won't spend the money on such a trip, for one thing.
Lost just about all my old photos and slides in the divorce. Wish I had some to enjoy looking at now...
ReplyDeleteAfter my divorce, which was about as amicable as a divorce can be, I kept most of the family photos. Now, since he died, I have a big box of his photos and mementos from when he was in the Army and before I knew him. I don't know what I will do with that stuff - try to get one of my kids to take it I guess.
DeleteI would certainly go with you! It's on my bucket list, but I have other things in life to get in order first. Hope you go.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Susan. I have other things as well, but I can always dream.
DeleteLove looking at old pictures, it gives context to the past:)
ReplyDeleteThey certainly show me who I am. I have well over a century of photos which covers so much in our country's history.
DeleteYour mom was right about having people in the photos. Years later, you recognize the place because of the people, don't you? Not that that was her reason. We had better not get started about U. S, support in the wrong places. Still going on today. I was surprised to learn that you thought Fidel was an improvement. Given that I tend to agree with your thinking on most everything, if I knew the facts, I would probably agree. Too bad you did not go.
ReplyDeleteYou're totally right about recognizing the place because of the folks in the picture.
DeleteI probably shouldn't have said anything remotely relating to political situations. I usually base my opinions on the fact that a dictator almost always gives preference to those in his own class. No matter what - the poor at the bottom of the pile get nothing from anyone, but in Cuba the really poor got decent housing, medical care, and probably most importantly, education for their children. No political system is without its problems and areas of inequality, but I just never liked the fact that we always side with the powerful and wealthy dictators at the expense of the poor. Sorry if I stepped on any toes - everyone has an opinion that should be respected, and I respect anyone's right to disagree with me.
Wow that you were in Miami so close during the revolution. I'm with you on Fidel and I admired Che as well. Although as an outsider, I'm not sure I'm qualified to judge how the whole thing affected the Cuban people but we sure didn't help any. I've always been rather open with my opinions which hasn't gone down so well in my life although it works much better when you are "older". Look into a tour of Cuba. Who knows what might happen and who you might meet.
ReplyDeleteI think I'm drawn to revolutions. I was in El Salvador during the 1st anniversary of their revolution (from a brutal dictator that the U.S. backed). Speaking of Che, I love the song "Hasta siempre, Commandante" and listen to it on YouTube sometimes.
DeleteI might look into a tour, although I've never been a "tour person". I hate being herded into areas that someone else wants me to see, but it might be the better option to traveling alone. I can always cut out from the group now and then.
Looks like I may have to plan a trip for us in the future... I've wanted to go and have a few business colleagues who have gone recently.
ReplyDeleteI would love to hear what your colleagues have to say about the experience. I should try to brush up on my Spanish! Cubans have a distinct accent that you ca hear immediately.
ReplyDelete"My Mother always insisted that a photo should have someone in it - not just scenery. I'm sure it was because film and developing cost money, and those who lived through the Depression were very conscious of avoiding waste."
ReplyDeleteThis comment hit home, this is exactly the way my mother feels and for the same reasons you expressed.
The smart people who remember hard times never forget the lessons learned.
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