The other other day I arrived upon the inside back cover of the October 2024 issue of The Sun magazine featuring this Steve Gross photo. Even though it's rendered in black & white, I instantly spotted my little buddy in his yellow turtleneck and jeans. Then I pulled him off the shelf to get a photo of the photo with him along for the ride.
I’d like to think Steve Gross was bumbling around a flea market and stumbled upon these family figurines in an old cigar box and took a photo. Then the editors at The Sun liked it enough to give it the inside back cover.
Many moons ago Catarina suggested that I check out The Sun magazine. So I did. I bought an issue at Bulldog News. It was cool but I wasn’t moved enough to buy a subscription.
Then several weeks ago a neighbor placed a stack of 12 or 15 back issues in my little free library. Since then I’ve been tackling them one-at-a-time and returning them for another reader to take home. The Sun is a great publication. An old school magazine that’s been around for years. It features great letters from readers and interesting stories, fiction and amazing photography. I suggest you pick up a copy. When I finish this stack of back issues I plan to become a subscriber.
In 1996 I was working at Kids Co. a before & afterschool program for elementary school kids. That’s where I met my little buddy and decided to adopt him and offer him a new home. I’m not sure why I chose him and not one of his friends or relatives. But he’s been with me for the past 30 years collecting dust on a shelf and smiling back at me.
About ten years ago I bought a set of family figurines for Junior-Junior’s birthday. I went with the multicultural four-family set. Asian family, Hispanic family, African American family and Caucasian family. Those are the vendor's descriptive words not mine. Each family includes grandparents, parents, two kids and a dog or a cat.
These are figurines you might see in a child care center. You might also see them in a therapist’s office and places where kids talk to psychologists. The figures can help kids explain themselves. At the very least they’re something to play with.
Looking back on it now Junior-Junior just laughs and says they were never for him, I just bought them for myself and said it was a gift for him. And I have to agree. I’ve spent way more time with them than Junior-Junior ever did. They live on a shelf in my room as we speak. I placed my little buddy up front for a photo.
Add Comment