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From circa 1962 Chicago comes this uncaptioned shot of a tot in a cop car, caught in the literal glare of publicity. Hopefully the past fifty-odd years have made things all better. 4x5 acetate negative from the News Photo Archive. View full size.
My thought was that he got lost in the neighborhood and mom and the police came to his rescue.
My take on the photo was that he could be with a child welfare employee after parent or parents were arrested for who knows what. Some news photographer didn't miss the opportunity to jump out for a quick snap.
Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
Hopefully he got scared straight!
This little boy is upset, but not so upset that he doesn't notice the camera. So let's hope it all ended up OK. He's wearing a sweet, hand knitted sweater which is a little too big on him, so it would be a hand-me-down. It looks like he's with his well-groomed mom who is taking good care of him.
I'm sorry, Mother, that I yelled "This is a stickup" when we were in the bank.
Desperate to know the story behind it.
I was born in 1958, and that little guy & I are probably about the same age. Can't even guess what the circumstances were, but I hope he had many better days, and a good life still today.
Or maybe a Plymouth. The photo doesn't show off the styling to best advantage, but from any angle the styling was pretty distinctive, to put it mildly.
[The dashboard (as well as the chrome trim over the rear wheel) shows that it's a Plymouth. - Dave]
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