Ok..so here are two more photos of my father, Emile, with his cousins on leave after the liberation of Paris. I am almost sure the man is his cousin, Yves Jouffa, and the woman is Yves's sister, Roselyne-- but I am waiting for the family in France to confirm this. I find these old photographs endearing, their faces open and vulnerable to the camera. They want to remember themselves like this, happy to be alive and reunited after such horrible times. As my father's child, it is odd for me to find myself so much older and relating to these photos of him the age of my children now with nostalgic affection and amusement. I feel protective of that younger Emile -- and charmed by those oh-so-expressive eyebrows of his and that boyish smile (never mind the pipe!).
Midori Snyder is the author of nine books for children and adults, published in English, French, Dutch, and Italian. She won the Mythopoeic Award for The Innamorati, a novel inspired by early Roman myth and the Italian "Commedia dell'Arte" tradition....
