"We Were Always There..."

What I Like About This: A vintage photograph of two young sailors who to my mind are undoubtedly a loving couple.  This arcade photo dates from sometime immediately after WWII, and I like it because it reveals an oft seen aspect of couple photos from the past... The desire to record one's love and romance is universal and timeless, yet in the era in which these two found themselves, a certain danger accompanied this desire.  A photo revealing the truth of same gender love could destroy one's career and life. As a result of such fears, photographs such as this one often capture one partner who is fearlessly smiling and thrilled to create a memento of life's greatest aspiration, and often a partner whose face reveals the worry and fear of disclosing too much.  To my eyes, this is certainly such a photo.  The happy chap on the right is brave and proud to be in the photo, he wears a ring on his left hand, perhaps symbolic of his relationship with his shipmate.  His partner on the other hand is apprehensive and rather than looking towards the light source, looks warily into the camera and the photographer's likely knowing gaze.  Nevertheless, their pose is intimate and they hold each other close at the waist. Now the truth is that there could be nothing to what I see in this photograph, or I could be spot on, it doesn't matter, the only thing that matters now is that we remember, "we were always there."