Showing posts with label Dad. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dad. Show all posts

Friday, August 28, 2020

Day 2954: Dad and a movie.






"Joan": drawing, photo, collage & digital






Want music?




Click here for Jacob Collier, Here Comes the Sun.
then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?




Friday would be my Dad's 114th birthday.
Over the years and 2954 days of doing this little blog,
many people have liked the Dad stories, so I will repeat two.

I will preface the story with the fact that my Dad 
grew up during the Great Depression. It hit him, 
his family & everybody he knew, hard. 
It scarred him for life. 
He was beyond frugal, way beyond. 
He couldn't afford to go to school, but he could drive. 
He became a Greyhound bus driver, with many safety awards. 
He loved to swim and became an Olympic caliber diver. 
He made the US team, selected by famous Coach Sammy Lee. 
 Two months later he had tuberculosis and was in a facility. 
He missed the Olympics and his dream opportunity. 
Life wasn't easy. He raised me to know that.






Home from boarding school for the weekend, at age 9, 
I mentioned to my Dad that DeDe, my roommate & friend 
at school, had allergies. Without missing a beat, 
my Dad said "we don't have allergies, 
allergies are for rich people." 
You would have liked my Dad, most everybody did.


My Dad never made promises, ever.
And so, he never broke a promise.
Mom gave possibilities and some promises.
Do you remember being a kid when time stood still?
When the event seemed to be eons away?
And, if you could get it to be moved sooner, you'd try?
I was thinking about that today, as a very grown adult.
I learned it as a kid, but it's still true.
You learn who makes soft promises. They teach you.
With good intentions, they promise, 
but you have learned over time, 
that something more important may come up.
So you don't let 100% of your heart believe, 
so it won't hurt if it falls through.
Very childlike indeed.

Four more Dad stories, if you are so inclined… there are ant more.
Day 2375: Two Dad stories in a row,  here.
Day 2374: When Dad couldn't drive anymore. here.
Day 2459:  Traveling with Dad -1990. here






2GN2S
You know how I tell you, I never know what 
the next blog will be? Well here's an example.
I was making my bed and put the tv on to hear 
the weather, then I would turn it off fo the day.
It was on another channel, but I was busy and 
didn't change the channel right away. 
And in that short period, I got pulled in.



I had never heard of it? A strange name, a great cast 
and I was halfway in before I realized,
thatI would watch the whole movie.
Let it be known, I never watch movies.
But I am so glad I did. It is funny and touching,
and for me, it paralleled part of my upbringing. 
I have included movie trailers in the videos below.
I think you might enjoy it too. Let me know?







•   A 2-1/2 minute video trailer, Secondhand Lions, here.
•  A 4-minute video trailer, Secondhand Lions, here.
•   A 2-1/2 minute video, Secondhand Lions, here.



 

A smile for Friday ...
 
A PLANE IS ON ITS WAY TO TORONTO WHEN A BLONDE IN ECONOMY CLASS 
GETS UP AND MOVES TO THE FIRST CLASS SECTION AND SITS DOWN.
 

 
THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT WATCHES HER DO THIS AND ASKS TO SEE HER TICKET.
SHE THEN TELLS THE BLONDE THAT SHE PAID FOR ECONOMY CLASS 
AND THAT SHE WILL HAVE TO SIT IN THE BACK.
THE BLONDE REPLIES, "i'm BLONDE, I'M BEAUTIFUL, 
i'm GOING TO TORONTO AND i'm STAYING RIGHT HERE."
THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT GOES INTO THE COCKPIT AND TELLS 
THE PILOT AND THE CO-PILOT THAT THERE IS A BLONDE BIMBO 
SITTING IN FIRST CLASS, THAT BELONGS IN ECONOMY AND 
WON'T MOVE BACK TO HER SEAT.
THE CO-PILOT GOES BACK TO THE BLONDE AND TRIES TO
 EXPLAIN THAT BECAUSE SHE ONLY PAID FOR ECONOMY 
SHE WILL HAVE TO LEAVE AND RETURN TO HER SEAT.
THE BLONDE REPLIES, "I'M BLONDE, I'M BEAUTIFUL, 
i'm GOING TO TORONTO AND i'm STAYING RIGHT HERE."
THE CO-PILOT TELLS THE PILOT THAT HE PROBABLY SHOULD 
HAVE THE POLICE WAITING WHEN THEY LAND TO ARREST THIS BLONDE 
WOMAN WHO WON'T LISTEN TO REASON.
THE PILOT SAYS, "YOU SAY SHE IS A BLONDE? 
I'LL HANDLE THIS, I'M MARRIED TO A BLONDE. I SPEAK BLONDE."
HE GOES BACK TO THE BLONDE AND WHISPERS IN HER EAR, 
AND SHE SAYS, "OH, i'm SORRY." AND GETS UP 
AND GOES BACK TO HER SEAT IN ECONOMY.
THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT AND CO-PILOT ARE AMAZED 
AND ASKED HIM WHAT HE SAID TO MAKE HER MOVE WITHOUT ANY FUSS.
"I TOLD HER, 'FIRST CLASS ISN'T GOING TO TORONTO."

 


Friday, August 14, 2020

Day 2940: Surviving Chaos.





"Surviving Chaos": junk mail collage, digitized.






Want music?





Click here for  Joe Cocker, "You Are So Beautiful".
then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?





I have many friends who are teachers and 
as a retired teacher of 43 years, I do relate.



Caught in a no-win situation, as I see it.
It is surely a test for their resolve.
 


And, equally hard for the parents with homeschooling.
Then there are teachers with school-age children.
I don't have any answers, but I do empathize. 

I remember my Dad always said ...
"don't worry about things you can't control." 
The German word for worry means to strangle.
The Greek word means to divide the mind.

And, I have read and am paraphrasing: 
that worry creates a hole in the mind, into
which all other thoughts are drained. 

I do have hope, faith, and trust, but it's hard.








•  A 3-1/2 minute, funny video, Ravel's Bolero,  here.
•  A 3-minute musical video, here
•  A 1-1/2-minute funny video, team building, here.





Smiles for Friday ...
































Friday, October 4, 2019

Day 2625: Ma, Pa and Fred.





Ma, Pa, Fred: old photo, color, line & digital.










Want music?

 




Click here for Maroon 5, Memories.
then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?












I started with a tiny photo, but a cool composition.



Step 1
Step 3




















Then three layers, I deleted step 2/red and played.
I drew with the mouse in blue.

step 4

This one took 1 hour 5 minutes. Some are quick, some not.





It's not what I planned, but then I am not often in control.








2GN2S


Did you watch the Jetsons?


Did you see the Carvana commercial on tv?


The brand-new Westminster Car Vending Machine – 
a sparkling eight-story structure that’s altering the car 
buying landscape for more than 13.1 million 
residents living in greater Los Angeles.
 
The most frequent question asked at google is 
if the car vending machine is real? I wondered too? 
The 20th & newest structure is at  
13950 Springdale St, Westminster, CA 92683Westmister,
easily seen from the 405 freeway, southbound.
Dad would say... "Never thought I'd see the day?"








A smile for Friday ...







Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Day 2589: Happy Birthday Dad!





Dad & his Grandma, 1910, Indiana:  collage, old photo & digital










Want music?

 




Click here for  Luther Vandross, Dance With my Father.
then click back on this blog tab or here to listen as you browse, or not?









Dad died 23 years ago at age 86.
He would be 110 today.


Dad, age 5 at the fishing hole.


He always said he had the best childhood.
Later he lived through the depression & was forever frugal.
He never smoked or drank.
I never heard him swear except once, when he was
teaching me to drive & I popped the clutch in the VW!
My dad was a driver, Greyhound buses, Yellowstone & 
later he chauffeured movie stars to work & back home. 
He had a lot of name dropping & stories.
He made the Olympic diving team when younger
but got TB and had to spend time in recovery.
A heartbreak. He loved to dance & tell stories.


Father's Day, 1975, Yorba Linda, CA


He had wanted a boy, but got me.
He always called me Jack.




Happy Birthday Dad!







For Throwback Thursday on Wednesday ...






Dad at age 80, 1990, Hong Kong.
I don't think I ever saw my Dad happier than 
riding that "Junk" in Hong Kong Harbor.
  He said "it was just like in the movies."










A smile for Wednesday ...