Blast From the Past: Where's Waldo?

I scanned in over one hundred pictures and documents today.  This might be my favorite.

I cropped that photo from this one after locating Ben on the back row.  He was a pretty cute first grader.

Ben had a wonderful childhood, and he has a lot of stories to tell.  I haven't heard the one about the tree.

We all know this story.  Ben's version is much better.  It involves jumping horses and chasing bad guys.  And at the end he will show you the scars from the stitches on his forehead.

I did know about his dog, Boy.

I love this, although I found myself thinking that none of my birthday parties ever made the news.

Can you find Ben in this picture?

Maybe second grade wasn't his favorite.

Ben was a pioneer in receiving the polio vaccine.  You are probably too young to remember this, but entire families gathered at schools to receive a drop of the live virus in a sugar cube.  That's my memory.  Ben's first experience was different than mine.  He was part of a test, but he later learned he received the placebo.

This is fourth grade.  I love looking at all the dresses and shoes.

Of course, I pride myself on my ability to find Ben.

It feels like a game of "Where's Waldo?"

I'm making it easy for you.

This was harder.  I had to go upstairs to ask Ben for help.  I even gave him a magnifying glass so he could find himself.  Eventually, he did. Top, back left. 

This was a junior high photo.  He became certain once he spotted his friends he was always with.

I scanned in a lot of football pictures today.

He didn't play football so the girls would notice him. He was a purist and loved the sport by itself.  Ben's on the left in this 1963 junior prom photo.

Ben was a tough guy in his youth, but his football days are over.

Again, I not only failed at finding Ben in this picture, but I couldn't even figure out what it was.  In 1965, four days before Ben turned 19, this picture was taken at the Mission Home in Salt Lake city.

Ben had to help me, but he had trouble, too.  He remembered that his companion was tall.  Ben's not short, so he wasn't kidding.  Ben has such a good memory.  He went through the group photo and named all the elders going to Japan.

The enclosed letter, written in Japanese, was from one of Elder Markham's converts. I can't do this story justice.  Please ask Ben about the convert and the theory of relativity.

Ben's best friend, Kelly, not only served with Ben in Japan, but they graduated together.

As I carefully sorted through the photos, I almost felt like I was prying when I saw what Ben had chosen to save in this box.  This is baby Sammie, one week old.

This was 1979, our last Christmas in Baytown.  Please notice Jeff's hand-me-down boots.

Ten years later, Ben was the bishop in our Clear Lake ward.  This was bishop's night at girls camp.

No son was ever better about visiting his widowed mother.  Often he took kids with him, although I'm pretty certain Sammie was a BYU student by this time.  Ben is a man who is quite secure in his masculinity.  Not only does he hold my purse for me without blinking, but apparently he was willing to hold one of his mother's dolls to make her happy.