Home Again, Home Again
Having just returned from a visit with my mother, who lives in a portion of the Ozarks of southwest Missouri where TV reception has recently improved to poor (although a fascinating knitting tutorial and several gospel services did come through with startling clarity) but internet access peaks at the level of unreliable, I will be spending the immediate future catching up with paying bills, running errands, dealing with the latest catastrophes wrought by the offspring, purchasing a heading-appropriate fat hog, … so Heck Of A Guy postings may continue to be attenuated or absent for the next day or two.
In addition, the bleak, dreary, overcast skies and frigid temperatures indigenous to Chicago this time of year have also embraced most of the Midwest; consequently, the scenic beauty of the Ozarks, one of the genuine attributes of the region, was obscured during my stay to the point that hoped-for snapshots of Table Rock Lake and its surrounds failed to materialize.1
I am not, however, without a photographic offering – from Lord of Leisure, no less, albeit not one of his outstanding landscapes found at Photos-Lord of Leisure.
From Egypt In The 1940s Via Kansas City To Heck Of A Guy 2010
En route to my mother’s cabin, a stopover at the Kansas City home of Lord of Leisure and Hippie With Tiara generated not only the anticipated food, fellowship, and fun but also the photo atop this post (click on photo to enlarge).
Found among the artifacts of Max Neil (Max, the fellow second from the left, is the uncle of Lord of Leisure and the designated character of the family2 ), this shot, taken sometime during World War II, features sightseeing GIs posed astride camels and attended by their guides.
There is something fascinating about seeing GIs – during wartime – at their leisure. The fez-wearing soldier in the middle would, for example, serve admirably as a visual definition of the word, “jaunty.”
I’m most intrigued, however, by the prospect of the existence of similar photos. The numbered card at the lower right (showing “10″ in this shot) indicates similar pictures were routinely taken of visitors to this scene.
Other soldiers must have availed themselves of the same opportunity to spend a portion of their down time seeing the pyramids and then commemorating the event such a photo.3 That means that across the country, ensconced in shoe boxes, albums, and envelopes stashed in closets and attics, are multitudes of my generation’s fathers and uncles perched on camels looking into a camera at us from the 1940s while taking a break from making the world safe for democracy.
That is somehow a comforting and heartening thought.
_____________________- In composing this post, I belatedly realized that, in forgoing all photographic efforts, I may have done a disservice to those readers longing to set eyes on views of impenetrable fog hiding a beautiful lake; I extend my apologies for this oversight. [↩]
- Max Neil has been featured in a couple of newspaper stories, one of which tells the story of his return to business beneath the headline, “Max Neil Fails At Retirement.” [↩]
- Of course, other, noncombatant tourists also had these photos taken. See this shot of body-builder Ben Weider’s first visit to the Great Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza which appears to have been taken at the same site although he is riding a horse rather than a camel. [↩]
Max Neil In Egypt The Photo From My Ozarks Trip | Egypt today // Feb 2, 2010 at 11:46 am
[...] Original post: Max Neil In Egypt The Photo From My Ozarks Trip [...]
I moved to Pennsylvania where my extended family lives and where my mother grew up. I have been humbled by the rath of deaths of that generation. In the Goodwill, I am finding valuable items that were brought home to sweethearts and wives during WWII. If only I knew the stories, now long-lost, of those items and the heart-warming sentiment they once expressed. Yes, they make excellent eBay sales, but I would rather have the provenance to go with the item.
I admonish everyone to get a archival pen, start writing down the names of who is/are in the photographs…even those you take today. There are prgrams such as ACDSee where you can embed a lot of information within the digital file. I have connected with many family members through geneaolgy research and have been able to fill in the blanks, and vice versa… One such photograph was of the great-great grandmother my very distant cousin was named after, and she had no clue! I have seen pictures trashed by the score because the owner had no clue who the individuals were.
We are the story keepers, and it is our duty to archive and document this information.