Prompt: "The song that you're always reminded of whenever you see a particularly memorable family photo"
Selected by Allison
"Top of the World"
The Carpenters
A Song for You, 1972
This isn't the photo. We couldn't find it. I enlisted the help of my dad, who was more than happy to hunt for this particular memory. This is the photo he was able to find. It is from the same time and place as the missing photo—close enough.
My uncle owned (owns?) a house in the Poconos, and we spent a few weeks there in my adolescence. On one summer trip, the whole extended family came up, and we spent a weekend romping around in the woods. To commemorate the trip, the whole family walked down to the creek behind the cabin for a photo shoot. The water was shallow, and the rocks weren't particularly steep, high, or treacherous, but getting Grandma up onto the big rock was an ordeal.
"Okay, Mom, strike a pose."
"I'm on top of the world!" Grandma exclaimed, throwing her hands up over her head. It was an unlikely pose for her—silly, jubilant, maybe a little absurd. She was typically more reserved. Digital cameras clicked and whirred.
"Great, Ma. Gonna take another one."
"I'm on TOP of the world!" Grandma shouted again, replicating her inflection and pose exactly.
"One more, Grandma!"
"I'm on TOP of the world!" A third time, identical to the first two.
My aunts and uncles were baffled behind their cameras. The cousins were in hysterics, just out of frame on the creek bank.
 |
| Me, my youngest sister, and grandma on the rock that put her on top of the world. |
No comments:
Post a Comment