The Old Days

This is one of my favorite family pictures. This is my great-grandfather, nearly one hundred years ago, in his tea and coffee shop. Not quite Starbucks, is it (though I suppose Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf has elements of this era in its decor). When I look at pictures like this, my attention is always drawn away from the subject of the photo to incidental details. In this case, I'm interested in the action outside the window.

Look closely, and you'll see someone - I think it's a girl - peering through the window on the right. To her right, there's a boy in a cap standing further back and also looking into the store. There's still another boy behind him, looking in the direction of the girl. Look behind all of them, and you will see what appears to be some sort of horse-drawn wagon. On the far right, through what appears to be the door, you can just make out the horse's read end. For some reason, as much as I'm interested in my great-grandfather, I'm just as fascinated with those mystery kids outside. We'll never know who they are, where they came from, and where they were going. We'll never know the drama of their lives. In other family histories, they could be legendary (or notorious). They could have gone on to become nationally famous. Yet here, they remain unknown - extra players in my family history.