My grandmother and her sisters were a riot to be around. I knew that from the time I was born onward. Any chance to get in the middle of their fun was a good chance. And so it was that I, a preteen American boy, begged my way into a day trip with my Maw Maw and her sisters – Peggy and Nancy.  A rollicking round trip from middle Georgia to Chattanooga, Tennessee.

I guess it says a lot about them that they let me go. At the age I am now, I do not know if I would so gladly welcome a pre-teen on a day trip I was taking with my fellows. It would have to be the case of one really cool kid. Anyway, when the “old ladies” got in the car, they let me pile in.

And off we went to Chattanooga, the home of the Choo Choo and all the surrounding tourist trappage that accompanied the restaurant at the time. One of those “traps” was a novelty photography studio, wherein one might dress in old timey clothes and have a sepia toned photo made as a souvenir. That day was the first and only time in my life that I have donned the costume for said activity. And as far as I know, the only time my grandma and aunties did such a thing.

I do remember the laughter, nearly hysterical, culminating when I, the dashing young gentlemen, produced my trusty pocket knife, and gallantly cut my grandmother out of the costume dress you see her posing in. If you know any of these ladies, you can imagine how funny it was.

Poses struck, film exposed and grandmothers cut out of costumes, four copies of the photograph were purchased and thusly did we all acquire “INSTANT ANCESTORS.” These photos would be placed in prize positions in every home, and commented (and laughed) over for years to come. I have carried my copy to every residence I have ever occupied, decade after decade of my life.

The quality of the photo paper (and the ink) isn’t that great, and over time the photos have faded considerably. I think my grandmothers copy is just about gone. There wasn’t much left of mine, and it took a night of intense work with some advanced image editing software to get the density and detail you see here. It was worth it, though.

There we are, Peggy, Sal, Nancy and me. The Wild Bunch.

And, yeah, they let me pose with a gun. It was the olden times.