Behind The Awkwardness: Bones
October 5th, 2010
“This is a photo of me, age 11, and my brother, David, age 15, Christmas 1970. My brother has a dislocated shoulder (wrestling), and I have a broken arm (sledriding). My mother happened to be out of town when I got hurt, and when she got home she told me to quit fooling around and “take that off,” because she thought I was faking it to get attention. Add this to my three concussions, and the 7 times my sister needed stitches in her head, and its no wonder my mom was not happy!”
Got to love the Christmas Decorations with the photo edge reading Jul 70.
Is the fireplace real or a prop for Santa Claus?
Speaking of wrestling, I wonder if after they took their casts off, their physical therapy consisted of arm wrestling each other…
That looks like the fireplace from the Fonzie Socks photo….could it be?
Am I the only one who thinks it’s odd that broken arm girl has her shoulder bandaged and dislocated shoulder boy has his arm bandaged? Hrmmmmm….
That’s a double, air, arm-shelf pose. Remarkable!
Anything you can do, I can do better!
lol…kind of funny. I recently had to go to a holiday dinner (in the spring) with my arm all bandaged up from a bike accident and my mother was not impressed.
Christmas used to only cost an arm.
Wow, Awkward Life is right. Maybe Mom should have stayed home more?
Actually, my mom was a stay-at-home mom, and the best mom at that!
The Sling: the arm shelf that happens by accident!
“You should see our other brother!”
The most interesting part (at least to me) is the picture develop date is JUL 70. But there’s clearly Christmas decor on the mantle. So I guess (like often happened my family) there was undeveloped film in the camera for seven months?
Or de-motivated home de-decorators…
Or what happened at my house once, where we didn’t take down the Christmas tree until the next July.
But she got the broken arm sled riding, so it must have been winter.
That would actually be the awkward part….they don’t take down the Christmas chotchkies.
Yup, I got the year wrong. It was 1969. By the way, I love all of the controvery regarding my brother’s flashing of the Peace sign. Every picture of him since that time has the same Peace sign, which he does primarily to annoy my mom who loves taking photos of her four kids.
Was she hoping that the dislocated shoulder would have stopped that for awhile?
O.K. the date stamp on the left border says Jul 70 so it can’t be Christmas ’70 , unless the dad with one short leg also had a time machine to do his instamatic photo processing.Must have been Christmas ’69 , with the film not being processed until the next july , now thats awkward !
I think the son is saying “peace mom, we are all survivers in this accident prone family.”
Teal. Never did like that color. And still dont.
It’s “Scrub Apparel Teal”! How appropriate!
Was your mother not happy because you kids were always getting hurt or were you kids always getting hurt because your mother was unhappy? Sounds like a vicious cycle…
k…LOVING the 70′s capri jeans on the brother!
Direct evidence YooHoo is not a substitute for milk
haha that’s funny! I remember YooHoo!
i’m drinkin a yoohoo right now!
Been coming to this site for a long time and it seems that the barrel of material is about empty and you are resorting to scraping the bottom now. Is it awkward that they both have arms in slings, or is it that they are posing in front of a fireplace? Maybe it is the pseudo gang sign the young man is throwing out. What is the awkward moment here? Sorry guys, just don’t see any awkwardness in this or some of your recent posts.
Wingnut, Sweetheart, it’s 1970 the young gentleman is not throwing out a gang sign, pseudo or otherwise, it’s a peace sign awkwardly thrown out while wearing a sling. And if you do not think two kids in slings in an awkwardly posed photo in front of a crooked fireplace wearing high-water pants is not awkward, well, others of us do.
Now that was very awkward and of LMAO
This conversation is the best part of the entire entry! What a gang sign! LOL!
Smiling, exploited children (someone broke their arms, and then forced them into highwater pants!!!) photographed in front of a “cheerful” holiday fireplace — if this is not awkward to you, clearly your definition of awkward is as skewed as the angle of that picture! Wingnut, if this is your idea of normal, PLEASE, PLEASE start sending in the pictures from your family album! No doubt they’re a veritable symphony of exquisite awkwardness!
I’m sure that anyone who grew up in the 70′s has pictures that resemble these. Maybe not with two siblings in arm slings, but that doesn’t in my opinion make for an awkward photo. By the time Xmas rolled around many kids were in highwaters since they had been growing out of them since school started the previous summer.
I agree – not awkward.
Ducky, Sweetheart, I realize it is not a real gang sign in 1970, hence the term pseudo which in this case implies sarcasm. We are all entitled to our opinions as to what is awkward or not. I am simply stating that if one looks back over the history of this site you will see the decline in the obviousness of awkwardness presented. The content has migrated from awkward toward funny or silly. This photo is funny to me but it just doesn’t say awkward and that is what this site advertises itself as.
….And yet, others of us still think it’s awkward.
Ducky, do you even know the definition of awkwardness? look it up sweetheart.
Actually Redjag, yes I do. But to humor you I looked it up in the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
Definition 3a: lacking dexterity or skill. (Not knowing how to fit your pants can result in awkward high-waters)
Definition 3b: Showing a lack of expertness. (Dad’s awkward camera angle resuled in a crooked looking fireplace.)
Definition 4a: Lacking ease or grace. (Lack of ease in wrestling can result in an awkwardly dislocated shoulder. Lack of grace sledding might result in an awkwardly broken arm.)
Definition 5a: Lacking social grace and assurance. (Awkwardly using the term “Sweetheart” semi-sarcasticly at the wrong time may result in having it awkwardly thrown back at you.)
To which definition were you referring?
I just really don’t get it – why complain? Yep, you are entitled to. I’m also entitled to stand in the frozen foods with rating cards indicating the attractiveness of every walmart shopper in Tacoma Washington off Pearl street (the number 10 would have no fingerprint smudges, but 2 would be frayed and tattered) – but I choose not to. Why? Because it’s not necessary, it’s rude, and it just ruins peoples’ day. Now let’s keep things in perspective – AFP is not anyone’s life blood, it’s not even a necessary food group – however, it adds just a little spice and joy to the lives of a few homemakers (evidently), and also to this successful very influential business owner that I know. It’s light hearted, it’s pretty much clean (except for that one old guy with the dumbell and the really tight shorts) and it’s absolutely hillarious every once in a while. It’s free, it’s created by nice people…so some flowers you see are fragrant roses. Some are pretty basic daisies. Go ahead and whine about the daisies, it’s your ‘right’, but it sure tells us a lot about you! Have a nice day.
Amy, I was about to agree with you UNTIL I saw your comment ” “business owner that I know:”… key words “I Know” , I decided against really responding to you and just pointing that out.
it does tell us about the “reason” behind your response.
Clarify? Btw, I’m the business owner I referred to, and also a housewife. Got the bases covered….
Woops, slow site, double post. Sorry.
You”ll have to be more clear. I will, too … A while ago someone was suggesting that the only people who visit this site are housewives. It suggested that people who have more pressing matters have no time for such time-wastery as AFP. Since I know several housewives and good mothers who visit this site, and since I also visit it but am very busy with running my business (and also housewife responsibilities,) I thought I’d mention both categories in my rant. Does this still fit your assumption?
Yaaay!
Would you declare “I hate broccoli! It’s yukky!” and then argue with people who say they like broccoli, telling them they’re just wrong?
Same thing as hanging around websites complaining, “This does not amuse ME, therefore it is not amusing.” Most people outgrow the notion that their personal taste is the lone valid standard, but a few do get stuck in that mode.
Amy- I have to say I am impressed with your reply. I sat down this morning at 7:30am with my 6 egg whites, two slices of turkey bacon, and milk and tried to come up with something witty, humorous, and yet insightful in regards to question of “awkwardness.” The best I could come up with was “Oh yeah? Well my Dad could beat up your Dad”… I know- LAME. Again, congratulations on your eloquent reply. Have you considered writing for Hallmark greeting cards?
This is the most awkward interchange I’ve ever seen on this site. Somebody needs to say “FTW!’, somebody else ask about a compound bow, and I think we can pretty much call it a wrap.
FTW!! Too much practice with the compound bows?
What? No Marnie?!?
Now that was funny, #2 frayed and tattered…that is priceless! You have a great day Amy.
The casts are awkward, but you and your brother decidedly aren’t! You seem pretty happy, all things considered.
Guess it’s not so much an awkward photo as awkward lives.
Armshelf, always awkward.
Not just an armshelf, but the armshelf supported by his sister’s shoulder. Does that make is a shoulder shelf arm shelf?
Stop it….you’re just being totally shelfish.
I haven’t seen camera angles like this since The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Or since my dad had a camera in his hand. Did all our dads have one leg shorter than the other?
LMAO! Two points, Brenda!
LOL – Polaroid’s took too much pressure to shove that button down, so a lot of them ended up looking like this.
Broken arms aside, I think you and your brother show great initiative. Both of you are well prepared for any flooding that might occur with the spring rains.
LMAO!!!
That looks better than the look now with the pants looking miles too long, slopping over the shoes, etc.
The pants nowadays aren’t too long… they just aren’t pulled up to where they’re supposed to be!!