Young(er) Robert

Today I went back to my photo box, where some prints are still in the photo developers' envelopes, while others are in albums of various appearances and vintages, and yet others are in stacks. If I did a census of all the photos by subject, my nephew Robert would probably be in fewer than Dees, who would be in fewer than Sam. Call it the birth-order effect, as it applies to childhood pictures.

Some years ago I read a comic strip in which the father of the family described the photos of his three children: the oldest had a large album of baby pictures; the next oldest had some stacks of unorganized prints somewhere; and the third child's photos were still undeveloped in the camera. That was still in the age of film, of course, but I don't expect digital photography to change the dynamic.

Anyway, I found the infant Robert -- a late '80s shot with his father, in the back yard in San Antonio. (His oldest brother Sam is lurking in the background.)

And one made about nine and a half years ago, in Dallas.

Not sure what's in his hand. Somewhere else I have one of him, also during our Thanksgiving-time visit to Dallas, brandishing a toy sword.