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Hand-colored photos my forte'
I suppose it was just assumed in those days that a married woman stayed home. Well, not for long in my case; I decided that employment would help start us on the way to success, and I got a job at a department store. I don't know if it was just the times, but I never had any trouble getting that kind of job. Each morning, I walked to the trolley and then transferred to the subway, which had a stop directly under the large Center City department store in Philadelphia where I was working in the Photo Studio. Really, the main job was trying to sell various packages of different-sized photos rather than a single portrait. I was trained to use the cameras that had been preset to take excellent portrait pictures. Of course, they were black-and-white photographs in those days, but there was a slightly more expensive option called 'sienna' that could also be hand-painted to create a very attractive color portrait. We had two artists on the staff, and I too often painted them — and in fact, all these years later I still have one that I painted of my husband. He looks out at me every day from my dresser. In these days of 'real' color photos, I imagine there is no need for any hand-colored portraits. But I am glad that this one has my own personal touch. But being able to sell ... now that's a talent that never goes out of style, in any occupation. Hey, can I interest you in this month's special?
While I was reading the recipe page in the daily paper last week, the tasty recipes I noticed were all from my old Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. It reminded me of a verse from and old song — "Shoo-fly pie and apple pan dowdy, make your eyes bug out and your tummy say howdy!" Of course, when it comes right down to it, there isn't much difference between apple pan dowdy, apple crisp, and apple brown Betty. No matter where we're from, we all make some of our favorite recipes from the same ingredients and just call the results by different names. I haven't made any of them in a long, long time, but maybe I will mix up a 'Johnny cake' this week. As we used to say up home, 'Get to know what good is!"
In his article "The Different Paths to 100," Dr. Thomas Perls, Professor of Medicine at Boston University and leader of the Long Life Study, says that the ability to survive to extreme old age appears to be the result of a complex combination of genetics, environment, lifestyle and luck. "Behavior is the most important thing. This means treating our bodies well," he writes. Exercising, dealing well with stress, a healthy diet, and a healthy attitude are what count. Remember, it is not so much the amount of stress you have, but how you handle it. "I'm not afraid of dying. I just don't want to be there when it happens!" Woody Allen See you next week! |
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