It seems that even though we live in Canada today we are just waiting for tomorrow’s elections in the US. I feel unsettled. I decided to putter in my oficina and look at some negatives in a box. These that I found I have seen before as I have scanned and put in blogs some of the pictures of Rosemary and me wearing the same shirts and the two of her not wearing anything but revealing nothing. 

This time I decided to scan the negatives and will place them here both in vertical and horizontal format.

There was one single negative of a couple that as a negative I could not recognize. I scanned it and so found out that the woman was a friend and teaching colleague in Mexico City who was Welsh. Her name was Vivien Worsdall and her English was absolutely impeccable. She insisted in saying luncheon and not lunch and sofas were always davenports. She gave me many tips and I became a better teacher of English to Mexican executives working in American companies. She adored Rosemary.

I had not thought of her for years. Finding this negative it almost feels like I have participated in a resurrection.

From the time I married Rosemary in 1968 and particularly when me moved to a little house in Arboledas, Estado de México I began taking portraits of wealthy Mexican families, of friends and of my family. I used to good clunkers, a Pentacon-F and an Asahi Pentax S-3. I had a good 85 mm Komura portrait lens that fit both SLRs.I processed the negatives in one of our two bathrooms and printed them there. It was this realization that I could earn a living as a portrait photographer that gave Rosemary the idea for the four of us to move to Vancouver. 

As a portrait photographer I find this as a heavy philosophical thought that will probably have me thinking about it tonight when I get into bed in anticipation of what will happen tomorrow.

In a small Welsh coincidence, my Welsh neighbours, the Galsworthys have invited me tomorrow to watch the proceedings on BBC. My daughter Hilary has invited herself and made cookies. It will be fun. I hope.

Rosa 'Bathsheba' - 4 November 2024

Bathsheba (/bæθˈʃiːbə/ or /ˈbæθʃɪbə/; Hebrew: בַּת־שֶׁבַע Baṯ-šeḇaʿ, lit. 'Daughter of Sheba' or 'Daughter of the Oath')was an Israelite queen consort. According to the Hebrew Bible, she was the wife of Uriah the Hittite and later of David, with whom she had all of her five children. Her status as the mother of Solomon, who succeeded David as monarch, made her the Gebirah (גְּבִירָה) of the Kingdom of Israel. She is best known for her appearance in the Book of Samuel, which recounts how she was summoned by David's royal messengers after he witnessed her bathing and lusted after her; David has Uriah killed and then marries Bathsheba.

Wikipedia

No matter what I do on any day these days the action reminds me of my Rosemary. Today I saw the only rose flowering in my fall garden, Rosa ‘Bathsheba’. I scanned it even though I have scanned it many times since I purchased the rose 3 years ago.  I had to find a new way of associating the rose with Rosemary. That was not tough.

I met my Rosemary in Mexico City mid December 1967 and by Christmas I had taken her to Veracruz to meet my mother who lived there. We were married in Coyoacán, on 8 February 1968..

At that time, and until recently Rosemary wore contact lenses (including the one-a-day ones), this meant that she never took showers and never swam in pools. When we lived in Burnaby, just as we were about to go somewhere, she would tell me (it happened more than once) that she had dropped one of her contacts on our terrible green shag carpet.

My mother had no tub so Rosemary took many showers (without her contact lenses and she really did not see well without them) during the day to escape Veracruz’s humid heat. Quite a few times when I heard the shower going I would go in to spy on her (my version of King David). Such was the sight of her in the shower that we would end up with shenanigans in bed which resulted in further showers.

Once Rosemary had her one a day contacts and later when she had laser surgery she would take many a tub bath. In our very nice Kitsilano bathtub I could see her from my bed. Many a time I simply took my clothes off and joined her in the tub. We used all kinds of Epson Salts. We lived an active bathtub life.

Now when I am in the tub and I can see the empty bed (two cats on it, though) I reminisce with melancholy those wonderful times.

My Rosemary, my Bathsheba – gone.