This is from an old snapshot taken just after World War II, circa 1946. This was a “spur of the moment” snapshot taken beside Lake St. Claire outside Detroit. That hazy summer sunlight, the wind blowing in off the lake, the new car idling beside the road as someone waits patiently in the passenger seat while a photo is quickly snapped. Standing beside the new DeSoto is the artist’s father. This is the only photo that survives of this excursion. The scene captures that confidence of the post war era, a triumphant America has come home with the return of the troops and the return to civilian life. For this brief moment in America’s history we could conquer any obstacle. The challenges of post war life, strikes, inflation, the Cold War lay over the horizon, but not yet visible. On the day this photo was captured, America’s future was as bright and shiny as that new DeSoto!
