Mme. Willi Posey napping on the deck of the S.S. Liberte

Picture probably taken by Michele Wallace, 1961.

It is 1961. My grandmother (pictured here), my sister Barbara, my Mom Faith and I are on our way to France. Mme. Willi Posey, my grandmother, Momma Jones as I then called her, is napping in the comfortable sunlight on the deck of the S.S. Liberte on its last transatlantic voyage.

I just love love this picture. She is wearing her favorite sweater, her head tied up in her favorite sleeping scarf, totally relaxed, totally herself. Yet ready, at a moment's notice, to be of service. Or so I imagined. I loved the perfectly round shape of her head, her eyes, her nose, all perfection. She was 58 years old that summer.