In January 2005, my great uncle and
namesake Father Walter Kaelin (warmly referred to as "Uncle
Jack" by everyone in the family) passed away. Two weeks later,
the Kaelin family was gathered together, sorting through his
belongings. A set of photo albums were among the keepsakes collected
over a period of eight decades. I was invited to take a few photos
of my liking, and among those I snatched, the shot above is by far one of
my favorite shots of all time.
The pair in the photo are my paternal
grandparents. Both were long passed by the time I received this
photo. As is typically the case with grandparents, I have fond
memories of their doting natures and quiet reserve at most family
gatherings. Actually, that latter part is a lie. The Kaelins'
gift of gab is definitely hereditary. I just liked the way the
sentence sounded (though it loses its luster with each passing
moment). Anyway, my memories of them both pertain primarily
to Sunday visits where my brothers and I were inundated with candy, and
major holidays, where my brothers and I were inundated with candy.
Caring and wise they were.
That's why I love this photo.
It's a trip to the other side of the spectrum that was their lives.
No longer do I see the sedate grandparents I came to know and love,
relaxed in their recliners, watching the races on television and offering
sweets during the commercials. I now see the both of them getting
shit-faced on booze. Better yet, the photo set this was excerpted
from yielded the fact that this was taken in New Orleans during Mardi
Gras. Evidently after a day of acting like tourists, taking pictures
of floats and eating in nice restaurants, my grandparents decided to go
back to their hotel room and get wasted on alcohol. In fact, let's
take a closer look at this photo.
First of all, there appears to be a
lot of booze there. I see a pint of bourbon and what looks to be
a pint of rum on the nightstand and a gallon of gin in my grandmother's
hand. The cups they're drinking from seem fairly full of a dark
liquid. It could be Coke, yet there is no photographic evidence of
such. I guess Grandpa Kaelin liked to mix up hurricanes on vacation.
My grandfather has also left his sunglasses and driving cap on in the dim
hotel room, giving him an eerie look. My grandmother has a pained
expression on her face as if she knows that she's hit her drinking limit,
but she continues to pour nonetheless. My grandfather cackles wildly
as she does.
Yes, the notion of my grandparents
really letting loose cracks me up. That's why I love this
photo. I typically stop looking at it before the terrors set
in. You know what I'm talking about. The inner voices that ask
questions like: "Who took that photo, and what part did they play in
the evening's shenanigans?" or worse yet "What do you
think took place once the camera lens was back on and your grandparents
got really loaded?" AAAH! Now I need a drink!
Back
