When looking though photos at first I found myself overlooking this photo of Howard and Cris because of its simplicity. But then as I really looked at it there’s really so much to see. The first thing my eye is drawn to are all the decorative liquor bottles. These were the bottles that meant something to Howard. Most bottles get tossed in the garbage or now recycled, but these favored bottles got kept as a showcase item or as a memento of a certain time. And they aren’t just there at the wet bar. Look above Howards head and you can see a shelf that housed even more bottles. And that the house had a wet bar is really something. Wet bars has become popular in the 1950’s and 1960’s and were almost a tiny kitchen with a sink and refrigerator. One wouldn’t have to go to the kitchen for ice or mixes if one had a wet bar.

As my eye travels down the photo I first see the gumball machine. Ah what fun those were. I blame them for my love of mystery packages. In the fancy ones you never knew what you might get. A necklace or a ring or something even better! And then I notice at the very bottom of the shelf…the dog. At first I wondered if it was real, but yes indeed real it is.

And then I come to Howard and Cris themselves. Howard must be telling Cris something really exciting or interesting for Cris looks like he has been there a bit. I wonder if you took Cris’ shirt and socks and Howards shorts and put them together what that would look like. So while at first I thought this photo wasn’t anything much more then Howard and Cris, I’m happy to see all those other gems throughout it.