Author: Shelly
A Gluebook Poem
Notebooks
The Rights of Man 2019
Grandma Jeanne
Hello, Blog!
I’m not dead yet! I just got distracted. I’ve been scanning some more of my grandpa’s negatives, and this one made me ridiculously happy. It’s of the Centennial Bridge across the Mississippi River, between Davenport, Iowa and Rock Island, Illinois. It was probably taken in the mid-1950s during one of the family trips from Minnesota to Atlanta.

Margaret Basquill and Jeanne Thompson, Atlanta, mid 1950s
This was in the same strata as the previous photo. I know it was taken in Atlanta, because of the house number on the front door. My great grandma Nell and her sister, Margaret, lived at that address in the 1950s. So that dates both photos (if the clothing and cars weren’t a clue), and it gives context to why my grandparents were driving across the Mississippi River.
I can’t even tell who the people in this photo are, so I think it’s safe to share it publicly. Grandpa was a pretty good photographer, but with film there are always duds. I really like this dud, though. Now, with digital photography, we have the luxury of permanently deleting our mistakes before anyone else sees them.
The Fang Toof
Look at that fang toof! It’s the one Thomas uses to stash things he wants to hang out with. I would dearly love to know why he does that, though I should probably just be glad that he’s such a ridiculous boy.


















