The main reason for my trip was to make my way to Dallas to see my mother’s parents and photograph them. It had been a couple years since I had last seen them and I finally just had to make it happen. While I had been wanting to go for a while, it was my girlfriend’s(sarah) story about her grandmother that really got me going. In the photographs, I wanted to capture how I remember my time with them.
We will start with my grandfather, Daniel Radice.
In the past, my grandfather was an avid carpenter. Every time I would visit them, Daniel and I would make something together. Something like a frame or a bird house. I was young so it had to be something relatively simple. He would show me how to use all the different tools like jig saws, drill presses…. etc. For some reason he wouldn’t let me touch the table saw and at the time, that really annoyed me. I realize now why that was and wonder why it wasn’t so obvious way back then. Fast forward to when I was about 14 years old when I found out that my grandfather had a stroke while driving his van on the way to work. Daniel spent quite a long time in the ICU but made a full recovery. Though, because of the stroke, he had some vision loss/blur in one of his eyes. He could no longer drive or do any serious carpentry. On top of that, he fell off a later 2 years ladder and badly broke his leg. That left him unable to walk for a couple years and unable to walk without a walker for several. The past couple years he has been able to get around fine… Mostly recently he had skin cancer on his neck and ear. The surgeons were able to remove it all.
Still, he likes to sit in his garage to look out at the little section of the world he lives in. I saw his work bench behind him and it reminded me of all the times we had built things together.
I can’t help but think that my grandfather was thinking about the all the times we shared in his workshop in this next series of pictures. Though I never know what he is really thinking, the years have taken a toll on his memory.
In 88 years(born in 1924), my grandfather has managed to accumulate a lot of interesting stories. He is a funny guy with a ton of things to say. While he is still that same guy, the years have taken their toll. While he still speaks his mind and has funny little remarks. His mind repeats itself again and again. To explain, I will share another story and a couple images.
Another fond memory of the past times I have spent with my grandfather. All the guys would sit down and watch my grandfathers favorite baseball team. I was typically more interested in whatever toy I had in front of me, but still, I was there and so was the game. We will just say I was watching the game. There we were, watching the game, grandfather with a beer in his hand, always in the same lazy boy recliner, in the same setup as it always has been. It is the only way I remember it. It was his spot. To top it off there were steaks on the grill. My grandfather taught me everything thing I know about making steaks today. It was just one of those things we did together. Those days are gone now, he can’t eat the steaks for fear of what it will do to his body, but he still drink the very occasional beer and sits down and watches the game. In the same, but upgraded recliner.
In fact, that is where he spends most of his days. Sitting in the recliner watching the game on TV except… He will be watching his favorite baseball team and not even remember the score, even though it is right in front of him. My grandmother realizes this and finds now that the best thing for him to watch is old sitcoms and game shows. Stuff he has seen time and time again but laughs every time. This is how I know him in the present.
I imagine it can get quite frustrating for my grandmother, Patricia Radice, when she is trying to talk to him. There may be meaningful conversation but 20 seconds after Daniel’s last sentence he will start where he began. He was showing me pictures of mine that he liked that they have hanging on the wall… Pictures that I gave to them at least 7 years ago that he said were taken just last summer.
Now, I find my grandmother keeping care of Daniel. She is the most loving person I have ever known, but I know it must be hard for her right now. After their incredible amount of time together, my grandmother knows exactly how my grandfather wants things to be and she lovingly helps him, to keep him comfortable.
Now seem like as good a time as ever to talk about my grandmother, Patricia Radice.
She, as I have said before, is one of the kindest, most loving people I have ever known. While most of her time is spent caring for her husband… She finds the time to make excursions out into the world and meet new and old friends. In fact, she even works out!!! In the past couple of years she has lost a lot of weight by going to Curves, a women’s gym/work out program.
And here she is, showing off her “curves.” For a woman turning 80 this year, I would say she is doing pretty good.
What I remember of her in the past, is endless games of Rummykub, cards and Acquire. We would sit there for hours with whoever else wanted to play at the time and play anyone of those games. All the while, my grandmother was telling me stories about the past. Like when they lived in Long Island(where my mother grew up.) They would go to the beach and swim in the ocean when it was ridiculously low temperatures I wouldn’t even leave the house at. But thats one of those things I get from growing up in Houston. My grandmother, still sharp as a tack just told me story after story while I was there taking their portraits. It was amazing to hear even more things about my family that I never knew. Though she was difficult to photograph, she has never really liked having her picture taken and if I asked her to stop talking, she would look very unnatural. So I just let her talk and timed my snaps as best I could.
Here she is searching her mind for yet another interesting story.
My grandmother a master of homemade italian cooking, showed me how to prepare many dishes. Dishes that I wish I remembered. Nothing she ever had a recipe for, she just did it and it was always delicious. For some reason, I vividly remember when she showed me how she measured out spices…. She would just cup one hand, pour the spice and be able to eyeball a perfect tablespoon.
That’s all I can think of off the top of my head, chances are the moment I post this I will remember something I haven’t thought about in years. I leave you with a few images I liked that just didn’t fall into the story… Still, each of them have their own story.
My Grandfather, just 30 minutes before I had to make my way back to Houston. Talking about the thing he just talked about. He was trying to get me to convince my parents to sell me to him for a quarter and then laughing about it.
It may have been over 50 years and it may be a bit harder now, but I know that they still, and will always love each other. You can see it in their eyes.
Thanks,
Bryant
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