Once upon a time, long, long ago, the four of us gathered for a Christmas self-portrait.

That’s me on the left, with the chubby face, holding some book. My brother was in his hippie phase. I think this photo was taken some time around 1970, possibly a little earlier. I was clean shaven, a condition that has been pretty rare in the last 50 years. I would have been around 20. Henry would have been around 23. My father would have been around 53, and my mother around 47.

I found another Christmas photo from a little earlier.

This is Henry. Since I am not in the photo, I assume I had either not made my debut, or was too young to participate in the present opening. Since I was born in 1950, that makes this photo around 70 years old.

I was curious about the Radio Flyer, so I looked it up. You can still buy that very model today for $124.99.

That would have been $10 or $11 in 1950. Based on my mother’s budget from those days, that would have been a substantial expense for them. And that was not the only present under the tree.

It’s too late to thank them now.