Ghosts of Christmases Past

I found this picture during my great pre-Thanksgiving clean out. Back when I was really doing alot with photography, I went thru a stage of copying old photos to b&w, then sepia toning them and hand-tinting them. It was a lot of fun - and, at least so far in my introduction to the world of digital, a lot more satisfying than struggling with Photoshop.

This picture has taken me back on a sentimental trip to the past. This is me with my oldest friend in the world, Kim. Our parents lived next door to each other when we were born and we lived next door to each other until I went off to college. Despite the enormous difference in our sizes, I am only 6 months older than Kim, but I was a year ahead of her in school.

I had just turned 5 in this picture and she was still 4. We were headed out to our Christmas Skating pageant. I'm not sure if my pose is something from the show or if my arms just got tired from posing for the picture!

Kim, I and the girl across the street, Robbie, all took roller skating lessons at Skateland, just down the street from Elvis's house. (This was in the sixties when Elvis was big time - we always looked for him as we drove past Graceland.) Robbie was a year younger than Kim. I quit taking lessons when I started to school; Kim did the same a year later. Robbie, on the other hand, went on and became a World Champion.

The couple who owned Skateland was Tony and Caroline Mirelli. Tony had been a champion in Italy, and Caroline had been a show skater and was quite glamorous with her bright red hair. I had not thought of them in years, so of course I had to google them. Apparently Tony died some years back, but it tickled me to see that Caroline, at 76, is still coaching young roller skaters!