A big HAPPY BIRTHDAY! goes out today to my good friend Helma Hoepken in Scranton, Pennsylvania. I won’t say her age, I’ll let her volunteer it herself if she feels like it 
All I’ll say is that she was born before the beginning of WWII…
Despite Helma actively trying for more than three years to avoid my camera, I’ve managed to take her photo a few times. Here are a few of my favourites (although that bottom right one is a caricature made with Helma’s cooking):
If you compare that top picture (taken obviously by someone else; my parents hadn’t even met yet) to this one below (my personal favourite), you’ll see Helma’s still the same bright spark since that photo was taken in November 1964. (Wow, look at that dress. That waist! I could never pull off wearing anything that streamlined, even at 16.)
Many happy returns, Helma, the clock’s been dropped so now you’re getting younger every day!
