amelia e.

When I was a child I had this photo in my desk drawer, along with the letters that went with it and another photo. I don't remember how I got them--I think I squirreled them away from a family album or something. Nor do I know how they eventually ended up archived (ooh wait--just saw that it was my uncle), but regardless that is my grandfather on the left, a man I never met, paddling a canoe with Amelia Earhart, whom he dated. I never met him, don't really know much about their connection, although I plan on reading her book of letters to find out more if I can. It is weird to see the photo again.

Needless to say, it's the arrival of the new Amelia biopic that sent me a-googling about this, but boy does the preview I saw make it look corny. Kind of like the worst of old movies and new. And reductive, rather than Big (surely of all people she is a hard person to apply cliches to?). But it's also Mira Nair. Hmm. Well, we'll see. Oh, the small cadre of actresses allowed to have Short Hair these days (Swankums, Kate Blanchette)...

Query: Why can I never spell genealogical properly?