Old pictures

Nearly three years after his parents' deaths, the Complete and Total Loser is still in the early stages of going through their things. 
Photos are a primary item. The Loser remembers hearing that the first thing most would grab from their burning house—the safety of other family members and pets already assured—would be photo albums. He heard this in the pre-internet era. Now it may not even be laptops or hard drives, as many have things in the cloud.
The Loser found the below with some of his father's things. He vaguely recalls his father saying something about his father having a friend who traveled to Africa and brought back pictures. This photo would have been taken around 1910. Possibly, the woman in it had no idea what cameras were for. And possibly, the baby is Barack Obama's grandfather. You never know. 

Phoebe vs. Jennifer

Back in the old VCR rental days, the Complete and Total Loser has read, the tracking of the Phoebe Cates nude scene in Fast Times at Ridgemont High would often be off because the tape had been stretched from so many rewinds, restarts and pauses.

Phoebe Cates as Linda in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982).

A pretty girl, but not the Loser's type. He preferred Jennifer Jason Leigh's Stacy. Her quiet innocence. The naivete. More the Loser's speed, you know?

Jennifer Jason Leigh as Stacy in Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

The Naked Lady

At times, the Complete and Total Loser has a reason to go through old stuff in the upstairs storage room and today was one of those times. His older brother wanted to know if the Loser could find any of his late parents' Christmas tree ornaments. The Loser couldn't (they may have been thrown out by his parents, who got unsentimental about things when they got very old) but he did find a box of things he had he thought were no longer around.
In the box was a postcard the Loser had put in a simple frame when he was in high school, in the 1970s. He always liked old pictures of nude women. They have a kind of gentle softness that the Loser finds appealing even now, and he likes the idea that they had appeal even though they were, probably, long dead.

This naked woman has been dead for many years now.

On the back of this card is a poem:
For every wound a balm
For every sorrow a cheer
For every storm a calm
For every thirst a beer.