One Ugly Baby

I know what you're thinking, and I agree.  How could anyone, say that a baby is ugly?  I would never in a million years call a baby ugly, except... that I came across an old photo that was emailed to me... of me, I'm guessing that I'm aged under one year.  I look like a cross, fat, balding old man, and it makes me laugh.  Sister, friend and constant supporter B, is holding me, in the passenger seat of a stationery car and Jack, my father, is in the driving seat, looking on, hands on steering wheel pretending to drive, and I think I can spy a cigarette in his right hand, although I heard he was ambidextrous, which am I, to a certain extent.

My cousin Lyn once told me that I was; the most beautiful baby she'd ever seen.  These are words spoken by a) someone who loves you and b) someone who clearly hadn't seen many babies at this point.  I'm sure even Jack the Ripper was loved by someone, at some point.

I can't help but look at that baby in amazement.  Never in a million years, would I have guessed that ugly baby's story so far.

Rocky Road

I am a huge fan of "Rocky."  The original one, (circa 1976.  I was 6 for most of that year and my sister B for whom I wore a maxi dress with great bell sleeves to her wedding... did not marry until '77, this is a pretty big milestone for me, so I wonder how old I was when I watched this movie for the first time?)   Anyway, I love every minute of it, where Rocky blocks the door as a shy Adrian tries to flee on that first date and then they collapse in an embrace to the floor, to the final fight with cries of "Adrian!"  I sob, every time.

I confess that I have not watched the franchise, I don't even know if I've seen "Rocky II," but I caught wind of "Rocky Balboa" this week and decided to record.  It's a film by Sylvester Stallone and I was both transfixed and totally blown over by the sentiment. Over 30 years have passed since that first chapter, and maybe that's why it was so powerful to me, because I had not seen the in between.  Every day between that first "Rocky" and this one, showed on the face of Stallone, his face is both worn by time and care, I was torn.

I loved the flashbacks but really missed Burgess Meredith, the iconic coach, sadly he passed away in 1997, nine years before this latest instalment.  It was like watching a family movie though.  Adrian was gone but she was still present in Rocky.

How I long to watch B's family movies, she was the only one in the family with a cine camera and I think we're talking about a time frame of between '72 and '76, but I'm guessing.  I've been asking for years to re-watch and begging to have it all converted to DVD before it perishes, it does that you know?  The film dies and disintegrates.  If I do ever get to watch those home movies again, maybe I'll recognise a bit of a very young Jack, but I do wonder who she will stare back at.