Saturday Snapshots {October 24, 2009}

“Curiosity ... endows the people who have it with a generosity in argument and a serenity in their own mode of life which springs from their cheerful willingness to let life take the form it will.” ~ Alistair Cooke

{Gazing at these two adventurous young women (Jean and Margery) perched with a dog in a tough-as-nails looking all-terrain vehicle, photographed in Tanzania in 1950, I feel compelled to nickname them “Hemmingway’s daughters”.}



{An attractive blonde woman peers into a mirror while someone else snaps her photo from behind, thus showing the viewer both the front and the back of her wonderful hairdo. This lady, however, was not overly pleased with her hair, for on the back of the photo she wrote (though to whom is not stated), “Please try and fix my hair where I have it marks [marked]”. To my eyes, her locks, tucked up in the back under a thin snood or hair net, look marvelous, but evidentially she wasn’t entirely pleased with them.}



{London’s famous Piccadilly Circus, complete with a traffic constable and iconic double-decker buses, was captured (circa the 50s) in this postcard worthy snap taken by a man who was traveling through Europe at the time.}



{A mother and her two daughters, each sporting a charming summer dress, seem to be caught in the midst of a happy moment in this lovely snapshot of suburban backyard life, for which no date or information is provided.}



{There is something both entirely adorable and (most likely unintentionally) well composed about this darling 1953 photo of a young man and two precious kittens, each one walking off in a different direction on the back of the sofa.}



{A trio of soldiers share this photo with two civilian men and three youngsters, leading one to wonder if the boys in uniform were perhaps relatives or close family friends. The photo’s poster, whose mother is the little girl in this shot, does not know who those gents were, which may rule out close relatives at least.}



{Dressed to the nines and looking every bit a lady, a young, unidentified women posed for this portrait studio shot in 1931. I love looking at her beautiful outfit, from the bow bedecked shoes to her elegant floral brooch, it simply buzzes with charm and grace.}



{Four teenage gals enjoy a moment of fun as they pose – perhaps trying to imitate chorus line girls – in this darling, undated shot which was captured in Staten Island, New York.}



{An employee, in her crisp white uniform, scoops up eggs for a customer in this “slice of life” shot for which no information is provided. What instantly drew me to this photo (aside from the fact that you don’t see too many vintage images that were snapped inside of supermarkets) were the rows upon rows of impeccably well stacked and artfully arranged tins of food in the background.}



{The vivid hues in this street (and very wide sidewalk!) shot seem to jump like flying sparks off this serene photo of Durango, Mexico taken in 1956.}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}


A curious and open mind is truly one of the most incredible gifts a person can give themselves. The desire to forever absorb knowledge, to be open to the new and the odd, the beautiful and the brazen is to add a profound depth to life the likes of which no amount of riches could ever begin to compare.

Throughout all of human history there have been countless examples of those who opened themselves up to the wonders of approaching life with a curious mind, often to benefit from the repercussions of such a choice. From the first brave souls who said the world wasn’t flat (and those who went on to prove it) to every person who has ever left their own homeland in search of a different, perhaps better life elsewhere, curiosity has shaped and often dictated the course of human evolution. Yet, one does not have to discover new lands or make profound scientific finds to embrace curiosity. All you must do is always be ready to ask “why”, welcome learning, and remain open to possibility.