A bonafide Coon Ass is born

On a crisp Monday morning in January of 1962, a lovely and oblivious young woman and her gangly, charmingly boyish husband reported to the Labor and Delivery ward of the Baptist Hospital in New Orleans.

Lovely post modern "progressive" 1960s architecture



The young woman had been persuaded by her doctor to submit herself (and her wee babe) to labor inducement - apparently babies needed to be scheduled conveniently between tee times.  So ready or not - a scrawny, red headed baby girl was going to make her social debut by noon. 

As I was not quite done baking yet, the doctor resorted to the salad spoon method of delivery, and I was pulled by my head with metal tongs into a big, bright world.  My father lovingly noted the event in a letter to his mother:

"Her poor little head surely will straighten out."

Don't be so sure about that, Sonny Boy!

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholders - obviously these two old women (my Aunt Lois and my paternal grandmother Gladys)  are not objective when it comes to their apparent delight and fascination with this extremely common looking newborn (me).