THAT KID AGAIN, WITH ATTITUDE

I've not previously run photos of my granddaughter, Ellie, two days in a row, but this one speaks to me. The hard sidelong look. Fingers of the right hand loosely on the rail, left hand in a fist. The long, unkempt hair, the dirty jacket that causes her no concern, the rosebud lips and the little girl's Lambie thrust defiantly into her throat.

She is nine but this gives me a vision of how she might appear at twice this age. Her mother and I started college at 17, as will she if that's what she chooses. How will her image compare? I hope this photograph is preserved.