Way to Make Me Feel Old

We have had some real jackpots when it comes to getting photos—collectors with tons of images from which to select the best and most interesting. But we also have an extensive list of “single targets”. Random things on our wish list, “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a picture of _____?”

One image I wanted was something from the first production of “The Nutcracker” by Skagit Valley Academy of Dance. This institution has been teaching kids to dance for almost 27 years now. In 2011 they put on their twenty second annual production of “The Nutcracker”. Twenty-two years with no end in sight? That sounds like history to me!

My daughter happens to be a student there at the moment, so for the past four weeks, when I drop her off, I’ve been harassing the lovely ladies that work there about getting a picture from their first production. They finally located a huge display they had made two years ago titled “Twenty Years of Clara”. Every single Clara was pictured with descriptions of where they are now. It was downright fascinating!

And the money shot:
The first Clara, in 1990, Renee Kinnear pictured with the Prince, Ralph Fandel. Take a not-so-crisp photo, scan it in grey-scale and suddenly it looks way older than twenty-two years, I think. Now for some personal history, I graduated high school in 1990. Oh man does this photo make me feel OLD!