This is me at about 1 month, my poor mother, who was all of 5 foot 2 gave birth to a lump like me, weighing in at 9 pounds some odd ounces. I had jet black hair when I was first born but it didn't last as you will shortly see. Check out the couch, not sure if it was ours or the photographers, either way, a neat piece of furniture.

Check out the bloomers, with dots even. I started perfecting my communication skills back then, even before I knew what a phone was and of course I didn't have anyone to call but that didn't stop me. At age 1 and a half, I was just beginning to explore the world around me and the phone was but one of the toys I loved to play with. The very first Christmas I remember was a combination of shear terror and delight. My folks told me to hide under the covers because they thought they heard St. Nick. I complied and huddled under the covers while my parents made all kinds of noise, as if the grand old man himself was crawling in the window. Muffled sounds were all I heard and after what seemed like an eternity I was told it was ok to come out. Boy was I surprised, in the corner sat a bucket of coal and some bull rushes, symbolic of being a bad boy. You can well imagine , I was heart broken but mom as usual came through, giving me some rock candy to ease the pain.

I guess these next two pictures were taken when I was close to two years of age. Now before ya go getting all upset......NO!!!!!!!!..... I didn't start smoking at such an early age. Actually, stupid me didn't start to smoke until I was in my mid twenties, ( more about that later). Both my parents smoked and I guess they thought it would be cute for me to pose with a stogy in my mouth.

I'm pretty sure that teddy bear was a prop belonging to the photographer because I don't recall ever having one. That's probably why I was holding onto him so tight. Although it was common place to have white shoes for little guys like me, to this day I feel most comfortable in a pair of plain white sneakers. These pictures were taken just before I had to go to the sanitarium for my bout with suspected TB. Its funny how smells can bring back memories. I can't remember much of my stay at the hospital but I do recall, when allowed to wonder the hill sides around the facility, gazing at the clouds with wonder and smelling the local flora. The smell of the medicine they gave me, although fruit flavored left an impression on me that to this day takes me back and without fail, causes an nauseous feeling. The smell of strawberry gum is usually enough to get my stomach turning.