lessons from my childhood

growing up, i remember we had two hardbound books, one blue and one orange, that had fairy tales and stories with moral lessons. they were given to my brother and me by our father's relative because they knew we loved to read. my parents never finished grade school but they were smart nonetheless and instilled in us that education is the best thing one can possess in life. by the age of four we would already have learned how to write and read in english.

by the time we were teenagers, those books showed the use and abuse they bore all the years we were growing up. i think they ended up being given to the poorer kids in the neighbourhood.

recently my brother in chicago emailed me saying he had found the books at a rummage sale. however, he ended up giving the books to a little boy who was looking at them earlier but got scolded by the seller for reading and not buying.

in 2003 my sister and i visited our dying aunt in san jose. it was her father that gave us those two books. she was telling her husband how when we were little my brother and i could always be found reading in their big library, lying on our stomachs, hands cupping our faces, with the big tomes of "D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers", "Mary Poppins", "The Count of Montecristo", or volumes of Encyclopædia Britannica surrounding us. whenever we were left in their care, we didn't really care about watching the telly which my other cousins liked to do. they knew they only had to bring us to the library on the second floor of their big house and we can while the time away without any trouble.

well, that was until that nasty brother of mine decided he wanted to read first the books i wanted to read.
http://365project.org/summerfield/365-again/2014-09-06

this is my response to francesca's @frappa77 challenge to photograph "something that reminds you and shows your childhood".

also for week 45 of the 52-week challenge, the fare is artistic using nostalgic as inspiration.

[summerfield]

@frappa77 - here's my response to your challenge, francesca.

[Taffy]

This processing is perfect for your theme -- it's timeless.

[Graeme Stevens]

Excellent processing and shot

[Granagringa]

Great mood here.

[Francesca Ciarrocchi]

Fantastic answer to my challenge! Love your shot and processing... And love your story: thank you so much for sharing such precious memories...

[Domenico Dodaro]

Staying in contact with one's inner child, that's the most important lesson.

[Sally Ings]

Superb composition and processing. I have always found books to be much more interesting than television.

[☠northy]

Beautifully shot and processed... I am still pondering your push challenge and will be back to you with it later in the evening :)

[☠northy]

so - knowing what a great story teller you are, i thought i would give you a couple options for your get pushed challenge based on stories... children's stories to be precise :)

option one is "seussical" - shoot something inspired by the works of dr. seuss...

option two: "harold and the purple crayon" - do you know this book? if not, let me know and i will get it for you for Christmas :)

anyway - hopefully one of these options works for you... if you truly hate them both let me know and i will see what else i can come up with!

[summerfield]

@northy - ack! i hate seuss and i don't know harold and his purple crayola. :-) go easy on me, will ya!

[☠northy]

well fine! how about this then: take a shot that tells a story and portrays something that is about to happen... does that work?

[Michael Elliott]

Definitely timeless. Brings back my college days - my major was British Lit,

[KWind]

Lovely still life. I like the tones.

[Chris]

Very nicely done.

[Ann H. LeFevre]

You really need to stop in the library and at least look at Harold and the Purple Crayon. I know a little purple cow who would probably love that story!

Anyway as for these books, they tell a lovely story and also reflect the reason why you are such a good writer!