My Father's 112th Birthday

My father Nelson Hoyt was born 112 years ago today. That is, indeed, a long time ago, even for me, but thankfully, our family believed in taking lots of photographs, and so I have a record of our family history collected in many, many photo albums. The photograph of my father on the left was taken on Lookout Mountain, just outside of Chattanooga, Tennessee, during a vacation trip from Chicago to Pompano Beach, Florida back in August of 1963 (the roll of film was developed in 1964). We drove to the top of Lookout Mountain to visit the Civil War Battlefield there. As I recall, the park went all the way down the mountain, and being just 10 years old, I began running down the mountainside. My father said he was too old to chase after me, and insisted I turn around. Amazingly enough, Dad was only 54 years old back then, 14 years younger than I am now. In other words, just a kid. At least by today's standards.

The photograph on the right was taken exactly 20 years later, in August of 1983, along the Indian River in Stuart, Florida, where my father and mother Mary moved back in 1976. This was the last photograph I ever took of my father - he passed away from a stroke 3 months later. He is standing in front of his prized Camaro. Once, driving back home after a road trip to Denver, he was clocked going about 95 miles per hour through Georgia. He told the officer that he just had a cataract operation, couldn't see the speedometer, and was just keeping up with the flow of traffic, but got a ticket anyway. Damn those Georgia cops. In any case, Happy Birthday Dad!