Monkey See, Monkey Do

CKM's post about old photos couldn't have come at a better time.

In preparation for Grandpa Arlo's 90th Birthday Bash next weekend, my mom has been industriously collecting, scanning, sharing, and printing out old photos from my family's distant past. Here's one she e-mailed to me this morning, a group shot of my Grandpa's elementary-school class, circa 1929 or so:

My grandpa, James Arlo McKinstry, is the handsome fellow in the sailor suit seated in the front row, at the far left of the photo (his right). My mom pointed out (and she's totally right) that Little Grandpa Arlo has an expression in this photo that we often see glimpses of in the modern-day Little Arlo. My son did not get Grandpa's ears (thankfully--no offense to Grandpa) but it looks like he might have inherited the impish grin.

And here are the boys together. I think this photo was taken last summer, around Arlo's third birthday. The sailor suit worn by Little Arlo here is one that Big Arlo wore when he was little, though not the same sailor suit as the one in the class photo above. I'll have to ask Mom to e-mail me the photo she has of Little Grandpa in this very same sailor suit.

Is it any wonder that James Arlo eventually joined the Navy, hmmm?

I think we let Arlo try on the antique sailor suit just long enough to snap a few pictures, before he spilled anything on it or ripped out a seam. Then it was gingerly folded up and stored away again.