Have you ever wondered why you chose to display certain pictures on the walls of your home?

  Several of mine are of relatives and persons I had worked with who influenced me in certain ways. I was a reporter investigating a closing of a mine and wearing a “miners’ hat” in one photo with Tom Kelly, a photographer I worked with at the Pottstown Mercury Newspaper. He was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for his work.

     Another displays Professor James Strazzela who taught me criminal law and influenced me to become a public defender in Philadelphia. His name also appears in a section of Smith’s Playground in Fairmount Park where he was a director acquiring operating expenses and where I loved to play on the monkey bars as well as sliding on the world’s largest indoor slide.

I also have photos of myself as a second lieutenant wearing a uniform at stateside as well as a picture of me wearing what’s called a “boonie” hat while in a combat zone in the Vietnam War.

    Of course, one of my most fondess pictures is the one behind my bed and reminds me of my wife – Wendy Wright Contos – who passed away, and had the greatest influence on my life. She is also displayed in a portrait painting done while she worked at a newspaper in New Orleans. That hangs above the chimney in the dining room. 

    My son occupies two prominent sections of the dining room. One shows a young teenager with shoulder-length long hair smiling while wearing his cap and gown after graduating from high school. The other is one of my most cherished photographs – It shows Nicholas standing in line with three other students on their first day of school in the First Grade. The picture first appeared in a weekly newspaper in Conshohocken. I contacted the publisher and got a copy of the negative and blew it up. It’s been hanging on the wall for more than 25 years.

Achilles G Contoveros cooking at the Flaming Angus Restaurant   

Let’s not forget the true-to-life picture of my father that is displayed my bedroom wall. My pop is fully dressed as a chef. That includes the white, puffed-up hat called “touque”, as well as a double-breasted white jacket and a long apron covering his body. He is being congratulated by a fellow named Dewey Yesner, the founder of the old Philadelphia restaurant shops along Market Street in downtown Philadelphia. (This Blog post – Contoveros – is named after my dad.)

    I will never forget the unconditional love I got from the person who appears in a group photo of my grandmother – Anne Hagel of Mays Landing, NJ. I lived with her immediately after I was born because my mom suffered from what’s called “postpartum depression” and my parents decided it would be wiser for me to be with the only grandparent I ever knew.

I always feel good when I see the picture and am so glad to have received so much love from my grandmom for more than 20 years. She passed away when I was attending Officer’s Candidate School (OCS) in 1969 and was unable to attend her funeral.

Still Missing You Today GrandMom!