My mother recently learned a lot about her family roots.
Someone traced them from Alabama back to Scotland in the 1600s.
How cool is that?
She also was given a lot of old, old, old family photos to scan and preserve.
We came across one that completely boggled our minds.
Someone traced them from Alabama back to Scotland in the 1600s.
How cool is that?
She also was given a lot of old, old, old family photos to scan and preserve.
We came across one that completely boggled our minds.
The man on the left is my great-great-grandfather, and I have no idea what he's doing.
So, I've decided to call on you guys to help me out.
What's going on in this photo?
I'm at a total loss.
It's so cool, but completely confusing.
What's going on in this photo?
I'm at a total loss.
It's so cool, but completely confusing.
66 comments:
Rhea, I have no idea? First time I have seen that. Must be one of your families customs, LOL. Maybe they had to have a place to put them while they shook hands? Who knows. Nothing pulling up on google serches either. Let us know if you ever figure it out.
Maybe it was some lame photographer's idea of a portrait.
I think I'd find another photographer!
Maybe they hadn't done laudry in a while, so they are getting help from the fragrant Hydrangeas? Okay, maybe not...hmmmm, they were caught goofing off while they should have been making the family some money, so they decided to bring flowers home to the women folk and wanted to shake on it and had no where else to put the flowers? Yeah, that is definitely it. Case solved!!!
I really have no clue but I wish my family had some colorful photos like these!!!
Marlene
OBVIOUSLY, they needed a place to put their flowers so they could shake hands. they had their satchels in one hand (don't you love that word...satchel?) and they wouldn't dare put the flowers on the floor...so...in the waistband! instant flower holder! perfection!
hahaha.
I think they were just storing them while they shaked hands. Or they were trying to make their peckers happy. [-:
Looks like they were doctors who had been working on the first feminine hygiene product and had to put away their research materials temporarily when one of them said to the other, "Pull my finger."
This one is soooooo obvious! They were both medical reaserchers, and they wanted to experement with herbs and flowers! But because it looked ever so embarasing, when people came by they stuffed their flowers in their pants (because it was ever so convineint) and shook hands xD
Ummmm.....they're stumping for gay marriage?
Ummmm.....they're trying to create the first penis enlarger (the bees will be attraced to the flowers and therefore sting the man in his "parts" in which he'll swell up like a log)?
Ummmm.....in order to ensure that they'll get a much desired BJ, they put the flowers down low and will ask their wives to smell the flowers and oh, hey honey? While you're down there......
I got nuttin'.
What???!! Why is my daughter commenting on your blog? She is supposed to be doing her school work. I am thinking that we need to add back in that spelling program.
Was I supposed to comment on these pictures? Sorry I was distracted by my daughter. And now am quite glad she wrote before Mama Dawg made her observations.
I got nothin' - I have no idea why men would put flowers in their pants. Or why they would hold hands.
Notice that they won't look the photographer in the eye. Or each other. I don't think they like this picture very much...
Awesome photo! The quality is really quite good.
Your great-great-grandfather was obviously a flower-bagger. This was a lesser-known term (the more popular trend was to be a carpet-bagger) for men who would travel with their bags in their hand, and flowers in their pants.
They obviously were doctors, and they had flowers to give to their lovely patients they would be visiting. When they were shaking hands to leave it was much more convenient to stuff the flowers down their pants than to lay them down to shake hands.
Heh, I messed up my URL/name thingy on my last comment. Sorry for the double-comment. I put some flowers in my pants and took a picture so that my descendants can try to figure out what a lame commenter looks like :D.
Looks like they are shaking hands. THe flowers.......no idea :D
Duh! It's so obvious! They were fighting over the affections of your great great grandmother. Grandma told them she had a hankerin' to play doctor, so they both rushed out to buy some props to show up at her door with the goodies and of course some flowers. They were distraught to see one another there, both with the same idea.
Grandma made them dual. Grandpa won the dual and her heart. The rest was history.
In Scottland men expressed the juxtoposition of their feminine & masculine sides by wearing a kilt. Once they came to America, the wearing of the Kilts made it MUCH harder to blend in with society and find good paying jobs. SO the good Scottsman abandoned the kilts and replaced them with the more tradtional "trousers", but to keep the balance, they but boquets of flowers in their pants.
OR
These two were BIG jokesters and said "Lets take a stupid picture that will pass down through the generations and make our great-great grandchildren wonder what in the heck we were doing.
Yeah. I got nothin'.
Cool photo and history, though!
I love hot tub lizzy's idea..."These two were BIG jokesters and said 'Lets take a stupid picture that will pass down through the generations and make our great-great grandchildren wonder what in the heck we were doing.'" My grandpa would have totally done something like that!
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog today...yours is super cute and I can't wait to visit here again. :)
Angie in OH
The two doctors showed up at the same house and are now playing "Rock, Scissors, Paper" to settle who goes in???
- Jennifer
Also sharing Scottish roots, I can assure you that is quite normal behavior for our ancestors. It's a tradition from the old country ... show up to court the same lady, bringing liquor cleverly concealed in a "medical" bag, put your trying-to-impress-her bouquet in your pants so you can shake hands ... because look out, after the very manly act of drunken wrestling over the gal of their dreams, one of these men will not make it out alive. Looks like it worked out ok for your Great Great Grandfather. Whew.
Oh and I forgot one thing ... look ... you have clip art of flowers in a cowboy boot ... evidently it's a family trait to stick flowers in any place that can hold them! ;-)
OMG. I'm so embarrassed. I didn't know Kat's daughter was reading blogs!
So glad she posted and read before I commented.
Sorry Kat!
They are shaking hand, confirming a deal between them to not practice medicine on the other's turf.. Maybe it's a old tyme gang thang.. That's it...you are related to Ganngstarrsss. Now ya know.. lol. just kiddin. I don't know but it's is weird.
OMGoodness - y'all are cracking me up! That photo is priceless!
"Old Tyme Gang" is hilarious! I have no insight for you here, other than some sort of medical doctor showdown, but it's a great picture.
Hmmm...that's strange...maybe it was the photographer's idea! Maybe they were just joking around! WHO KNOWS! haha
I'm howling....can't buh-LEEEEVE some of the comments.
flower baggers, penis enlargers, early feminine hygeine........
What's in those satchels????
Seriously, this makes sense. They are physicians who were working on sick patients who smelled horribly because of their disease. They could not hold flowers like a nose gay used in the 1800's to compensate for the stench so they placed them in their pants. This way, when they bent over to take care of patients, the flowers were close and they still had both hands.
Or...they were just funny men who had nothting better to do.
They picked the flowers off the tree behind them, to take home tot heir wives. Then they realized that they were not supposed to pick those flowers. So they made a pact to never tell. But they were holding ... I dunno, purses? ... in one hand and flowers in the other, so ... into the waistband go the flowers so they can shake hands on their pact. Sadly, some Crimestoppers solver wannabe of the day was standing right there and took a picture of the whole thing.
Either that or some photographer thought this would look cute and actually posed them that way. That kind of thing happens.
Just an idea, you could use it as a sidebar and say "No wonder my family is nuts!" or something like that.
I think they just put them there to shake hands and the flowers were to bring home to their wifes. Or they are gay
He's doing some kind of illegal medical bag exchange thingy and on top of that infraction of the law he stole some flowers from that flower bush behind him to take home to your great-great grandmother. Yeah. That's it. Yeah.
Way to go Mama Dawg!
I'm so glad I never talk like that.
Since so few pictures were taken back then, they knew that this would make it into a photo album. This is how they wanted to be remembered: for their sense of humor.
No idea... but it is a great picture....
sory but the first thing that came to my mind was a fertility ritual? You know, flowers are fertile so maybe that would help. I don't know?
They are obviously shaking hands agreeing on something. The old fashioned way. No debating, no mudslinging. All happy-like with flowers and everything..
Nostaligia is awesome!!
very very interesting. and dry humor! ;) I'd like to know the reason to the flowers also.
They seem to be multi taskers so maybe they're watering those flowers too, hmmmmmmmm.........?
Now this is truly a mystery!! Flowers in pants. Sounds a little like Saturday Night Live!
Cool
I go back to the Alamo on one side and Mayflower on the other and it is awesome!
I think they are making a deal......whose belle will reach down and grab the flowers.
Totally kidding....and totally out of line....but really, this picture is hilarious.
Poster boys for the word "dandy?"
are those medical bags...or overnight bags? :)
Whew, this is randy. And Lizzy's comment, as per usual, has me cracking up.
They're both smokin' hot, by the way. I'd do 'em.
Bwahahahahahahaha!!!
I could never come up with even closer to a clever retort after hearing these...I"m rolling...whatever they are....they kind of look like Raul my hair stylist...I think he wore something similar last week....or maybe they just walking down the street and OMG..."he's wearing my outfit...how cool is that??"'...Two fashion plates would have to shake hands...and have their early paparrazi photo op taken....
No idea, not even a clever retort, but that's awesome. The quality of that picture is awesome.
You have some clever readers. I loved reading their comments. I wish someone really knew what was going on. I like the comment that said their goal was to stump future relatives with such a funny picture.
I have no idea...going to their sweethearts house with flowers and didn't want to carry them????
Love your blog..so very cute!
-sandy toes
I have no idea but they sure are fancy:-) Hee, hee, hee.
I got nothing. But I'm all about hearing some answers to this mystery.
That's SO COOL that they traced you all the way back to the 1600's! I'm going to be working on my family history big time next year. I hope I get as lucky as you have.
I'm not sure what's happening, but it's a cool photo.
No idea. I'm totally stumped...
These comments are cracking me up!
SOmething VERY VERY DODGY is going on!!
*GiGGLeS*
Rhea come and enter my baby pool when you get a chance!
It wont take long I promise! :-) xx
No idea but I think discovering your roots is awesome.
well I'm just really glad you asked the flower in the pants question before I did!!! And I have nooo idea unless they were on their way home to mama and their hands were full and wanted to shake hands!! I'll be curious to see what you figure out... :) L A
I'm dying laughing! I have no idea but I really hope you find out the answer.
Dazed and confused over here....gotta know. Share when you find out!
Okay laughing at Mama Dawg's answers. Too funny.
I have no freaking idea.
catching up here.... I'm dying at these folks' answers... I can't do any better than what I've read....
I'm late to comment but my first thought was that they were both suitors of the same woman (yes this is similar to another comment but it did come to me before I saw the comments). The satchels contain pistols for the duel (too short for swords of course) and whoever won got the lady so they both brought flowers expecting to be the one who won.
I am part Scottish but I think my idea came more from books and maybe the show Highlander!
Oops, I forgot. They are shaking hands because they are gentleman and are agreeing to duel fairly. Of course there is no after photo because that would be morbid. Check and see if your great, great-whatever-grandmother has a photo holding those same flowers and you'll know your great-whatever-grandfather. Oh, wait, I guess he did because you're here right?!?
That's funny! I don't even know what they're doing, but you forgot to mention they're carrying purses too (while holding hands w/flowers in their pants.) Maybe it's an old Scottish/Alabama tradition? Lol
No idea... but it's sure gonna tickle when they water those flowers.
Wow, when was this pic taken? Very cool. I do not get the flowers in the pants thing. Are they holding hands, or shaking? Maybe they had crotch rot and the flowers were an attempt to mask the fumes?
Justine :o )
I think they're waiting for the aliens to come and take them away!
The author of texaswordtangle.blogspot.com has written an excellent article. You have made your point and there is not much to argue about. It is like the following universal truth that you can not argue with: When you meet the love of your life, you will write them poetry and sing them songs. This does not mean however that they will be good poems or that your singing voice will improve. But sing anyway, for love is a gift meant to be shared. Thanks for the info.
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