Further cementing my reputation as a “tardy-adopter,” today I bought a scanner, only a single decade after they became mandatory for any self-respecting geek.
First picture scanned:
My father and I, October, 1971.
Not only is Pa Baldwin an all-around great guy, but he’s also a regular reader of this site. Hi dad!
Update: “Don’t you have a similar picture of you and the Squiggle? I think a side-by-side comparison would be nice here.”
Extrapolations: every generation of Baldwin will have shorter hair, a higher BMI, and more ridiculous headgear.
Your son looks so much like you did!
What a great picture for your first scan. I was going to ask whether or not you have a phone or are still using smoke signals…or maybe tin cans and some string?…but I won’t because you have been so very nice to The Boy. :)
Your dad is hot.
Your dad may be really nice, but he stole my backpack.
What a handsome fellow!
(I’ll leave it to you to decide which fellow.)
I hate it when the fact that I am old enough to be the parent of almost every known blogger in the universe gets slapped up the side of my head.
Hey, early adopter of the Kelty! No wonder you are so tech-forward.
Obviously, a sensitive new-age guy to be schlepping the baby.
I believe you are in what my southern husband calls “the cat-bird seat”
I have no idea what that means. But I gather it is a good place to be.
Would I be correct in guessing that your father was born in 1943? Large Louie
Your dad reminds me of Harry Groener.
Just curious–what does the lever do that’s sticking out from the side of your headgear?
Shout out to everyone born in 1971. Based on my own baby photos, that’s a very sophisticated piece of baby gear for the time. I think my parents were just hauling me around in their arms and laying me on the back window of the car when we went motorin’. (Hello to Matthew’s Dad!)
The cool thing about the baby carrier was 1)it was given to the Yeti by his aunt and uncle and 2) his aunt embroidered the international symbol for family on the side of the carrier facing out. Very avant garde at the time!
Also Pa Baldwin was born in 1942. Good guess by Large Louie?
Oh I almost forgot, the little lever on the side of the Yeti’s head is how we made him talk.
Ah, yes, those were the days. You were such a cute kid. We were so poor–you were our principal source of entertainment.
That picture was taken at Lake Como Park in St. Paul, Minnesota. Wonderful place!
It was a difficult time for the Baldwin family. I was a mediocre grad student in a mediocre English Department (Minnesota). Three months later I reluctantly decided the academic life was not for me.
When Adam and Eve were expelled from the Garden of Eden, Adam said to Eve: “We are entering a period of transition.”
Don’t you have a similar picture of you and the Squiggle? (isn’t that what we’re calling him now?) I think a side-by-side comparison would be nice here.
Pa Baldwin & little Yeti = smiling and happy
Big Yeti and little Squiggle = irked, possibly ticked
Why?
You should make side-by-side photos of as many old pics as you can. That would be cool. Of course, it wouldn’t leave time to do anything else.
Wow, your father is the spitting image of a young Michael McKean (the actor from Spinal Tap, Best in Show, etc.
I have to agree, Squiggle looks really grumpy.
Yeah, the majority of the Squiggle comments here seem to be made by non-long-time readers. Those of us who have been around a while know that “the squirrely” as he was known in those days, was downright ornery the day this shot was taken. Who knew Discovery Park could provoke such angst?
My husband just loves the fact that we have four generations on my side…
So my wee gal is used in endless pics of her with her great grand mother, her grandfather, and me…
So apparently you Baldwins get less happy with time.
I love scanners! Now and again I find drawings in my pre-teen’s room that beg to be shared with the world. The angst! The anger at still having to endure a “time out” for bad behavior. I threaten to post them on the internet. Scanners can be a great parenting tool.
Loved the pics, too. 1971 — we must be close to the same age.
My father and me, not I.
Ah, good times
No wonder you and squiggle look grumpy. Your dad only had to carry you on his back. You made squiggle carry a backpack on his back, and you had to carry both!