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Birthday Photobomb: 1970

August 15, 1970. My 24th (cripes) birthday. My sister's family was up for a visit, thus allowing my nephew Jimmy to indulge in what today is termed "photobombing." Judging by our photo collection, he may have invented it, or at the very least been an avid early adopter. My mother looks on expectantly, anticipating my cries of delight. I have no idea if this was her gift, or even what it was*. I appear pleased, at any rate. This is undoubtedly the goofiest photo I've ever submitted to Shorpy; I won't blame Dave if he relegates it to no-man's land. A Polaroid. *UPDATE: Gift is the 3M Bookshelf board game "Stocks & Bonds." View full size.

August 15, 1970. My 24th (cripes) birthday. My sister's family was up for a visit, thus allowing my nephew Jimmy to indulge in what today is termed "photobombing." Judging by our photo collection, he may have invented it, or at the very least been an avid early adopter. My mother looks on expectantly, anticipating my cries of delight. I have no idea if this was her gift, or even what it was*. I appear pleased, at any rate. This is undoubtedly the goofiest photo I've ever submitted to Shorpy; I won't blame Dave if he relegates it to no-man's land. A Polaroid. *UPDATE: Gift is the 3M Bookshelf board game "Stocks & Bonds." View full size.

On Shorpy:
Today’s Top 5

All that for what?

No wonder you forgot....

Have not slept since last Sunday

You did that on purpose, didn't you tterrace, kept us all checking back continuously to find out what your gift was? And now that we know, it's a letdown, since nothing can match five days of eager anticipation pondering over a surprise. Very clever, these Americans.

Stocks & Bonds

I actually have that game, bought it in the 1970s. It was made by 3M although by the time I bought the game (and probably by the time you got yours) they'd sold off their games line to Avalon Hill, the wargames people. The game wasn't too bad, but more than an little simplistic. The "market" fluctuated for no reason except news and whether it was a Bull or Bear market, as determined by the draw of a card and the roll of the dice. Demand for stock had nothing to do with it.

tterrace birthday gift revealed

3M board game Stocks & Bonds. I remember it now, but it must have gotten played just once, if at all.

re: I see... Possibilities

Good catch, Dave. I never noticed that.

The guy in the tie makes me think of Paul Reiser or Joe Pesci, but they were nobodies in 1970.

Possibilities

Tony Bennett album? Lifetime supply of pocket squares? Paperback copy of Vance Packard's "The Status Seekers"?

I see

Linus.

re: re: It's a book!

It's killing me, too.

The Gift

I'll speculate on the the gift you are opening.

It seems covered in clear plastic shrink wrapping that you will have to remove to open the box.

It's a deep cardboard box with a color picture of some kind on the lid.

This kind of packaging reminds me of the plastic models that you would put together with a tube of glue, made by Renwal and other companies, Airplanes, cars, etc. So popular in the 60s and 70s. Were you a model builder?

It's a book

But what book? Rack your brain. I know the answer!

tterrace Rocks!!

Happy Belated Birthday Handsome!!!

Happy birthday!

From your romanian friend,
Happy Birthday!

In romanian language: "La multi ani!"

Still together...

As I've said before in response to your warm and very personal pictures, how fortunate you and your siblings still care enough about each other to sit down together and share one another's company. So many families have big gaps in current group photos from decades of feuding and estrangement. Happy belated 64th!

Enhanced gift

It's still a mystery to me.

Enhance

There is a main in a suit and tie with a pocket square on the lower right corner of the present. Also a dark border with light inner trip. Could be a book but it would be awfully thick. As they say in Bladerunner - enhance...

Close...

In order to get the full "then and now" impact, the participants would have to assume the same poses as before - and I don't see any headlock.

Happy birthday (+1 day) tterrace! It's good to see you survived the fashions and hairstyles of the 1970's.

Happy Belated Birthday tterrace

Hope it was a great one for you!

I may be the youngest poster...

Happy Belated Birthday. Love the pic and the blog. :)

Happy birthday to my favorite Shorpyite!

Tterrace, I feel like I've known you since you were a toddler. You've grown up before our very eyes!

Happy Birthday!!

I hope it was a very good one.

Happy Birthday!

Well, old man, you have a couple of months on me, so I get to gloat... Come October, I'm declaring my age in hexadecimal!

What a great photo! A real family moment, frozen in time.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday!!!

+40

I couldn't do a timeandagainphoto-style then-and-now, but here's me, my sister and brother this very day, all of us responsible variously and severally for the photos I've submitted to Shorpy. Thanks for the birthday wishes, Dave and everybody!

The Moment It Happened

I once commented on a mid-70s photo of you that I wondered when that cute perky tyke turned into a louche lothario. I see it was your 24th birthday. Best wishes!

Ha Ha

You're older than I am (three months and 18 days). I attended my 45th high school reunion last Friday. Now THAT was an old group of people.

Emotional contrasts

It is interesting to note that the females in this photo are both feeling the "warm fuzzies", totally into you, your birthday and your gift and "feeling your happiness". The males apparently could not care less about your gift or how you feel, they are caught up in their own shenanigans and are just there for the cake. Happy 64th tterrace and many, many more. Life is like a roll of toilet paper, the closer you get to the end, the faster it goes. Enjoy every day and keep smiling. Mazel tov!

Let's Go There Sometime

tterrace raises the specter of Dave having a "no-man's land" to where substandard comments and photos are banished.
What a collection that would be.

[Yes, I wonder what that would be like. - Dave]

Let's Go There Sometime

tterrace raises the specter of Dave having a "no-man's land" to where substandard comments and photos are banished.
What a collection that would be.

[You can say that again. - Dave]

Happy B

Do not relegate it to any where, that's the kind of shot that's hard to capture.
I was 19 on Aug 5th

Happy Birthday TTerrace

It seems that we share a birthday, although you have a decade on me - I was born on August 15th 1956.

No-man's land?

Any photo you would take the time and effort to submit must be something special. Both to you and even more so to all us tterrace fans. Once again, thanks for the memories!

Happy birthday

Have a nice day, do you remember what that gift was?

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday tterrace. I was eight in 1970, what I'd give to relive my wonder years of the seventies.

In the background, Paul McCartney was singing

"When I get older, losing my hair,
many years from now
will you still be sending me a valentine
birthday greetings, bottle of wine?"

Happy birthday tterrace!

So an actual datapoint...

of your age, tterace. I knew you were older than I was, but now I know by how much -- just about 24 years, as this was taken near my entry into the world. Were you a late child? Your mother looks about the age my mother is now rather than how old she was when I was 24.

Happy Birthday tterrace

Wow, 24. That was pretty much my peak. Live it up!

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