Happy Birthday, Dad!

 

Today would have been my dad's 68th birthday. This photo is my mom, dad and I in 1973. It looks like my mom is sewing (she's still a crazy active seamstress), I'm dozing, and dad is trying to be cool in what wasn't a great situation. I've always wondered about the crooked drawing taped to the wall. Who drew it? Who is the subject? I'll have to ask mom if she remembers. 

My parents had me at 18. After I was born, they had domestic issues (surprise!) so mom and I moved in with my aunt and uncle for awhile. I'm pretty sure this photo was taken at their house. The writing on the back looks like my maternal grandmother's. Maybe it was a get-together? The date on the photo is July 73. Could have been a barbecue, who knows?

It's hard to imagine what dad would have been like now. He was 51 when he died in a car crash. Mom had left him not long before and he was an emotional mess. It was a shitty time for all of us. I think of him often and wonder if he would have healed through the trauma, ready to start over on his own terms or would he have devolved into alcoholism and anger? Either would have been possible.

Dad was very intelligent but uneducated. He suffered the typical frustration of poor, smart kids. He worked in the trades all his life and was known to gripe frequently about the "rat race". The work was physically hard, often psychologically demeaning then he would come home to four kids. So he was often grumpy, yelling at us to be quiet so he could hear the news.

He was also playful. When I was about 5, he asked mom to sew some knee pads so he could crawl around with me on his back yelling "giddyup!". "Horsie" was one of my favorite games with him back then. I guess it did a number on his knees - until mom made those adorable pink flannel knee pads! He also liked to sing and would do it with an overly expressive, hamming it up kind of performance style. I loved that.  

Happy Birthday, Dad! I hope some fragment of you is out there, singing Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree and having a cold one. Cheers!

Friday the 13th!!!

Friday the 13th!!! Neat! I've never been one to feel any reluctance about this day. Actually, I often find it is perfectly pleasant. Besides, how can one not be a fan of such an excellent prime number?

So far so good anyway. I've coffeed, crossworded, played Treats and Pets with the cats, meditated and now I eat and blog. 

I love it when my cats and I invent a new game together. It can't be forced or contrived. Cat games are like art, the inspiration comes unexpectedly in a little whirlwind of delightful whimsy. Last night Louise was hiding in her tube on our galaxy rug, which was out of place. I told her she was going for a ride then slowly started pulling the rug into place, saying in a sing-song voice "woowoo....woowoo". She darted from the tube a few feet, turned to look at me and I asked if she liked it? She went back in the tube! I then pulled and pushed the rug around gently, saying "woowoo" for a few minutes. She stayed in the tube and Thelma came to investigate. All in all, I think it was a win and hopefully we have a new game! Here's a photo of another playtime on the galaxy rug, which makes for such an excellent backdrop.

As I mentioned previously, I would like to be a regular blogger but I haven't been doing so well with the regularity part. Maybe I need some writer's inspirational fiber, but then wouldn't I just fart words out to relieve internal pressures? I don't want to do that to you! I do crack myself up, pun intended. But seriously folks, my initial goal is to do this once a week. That could mean I post shorter blips sometimes. That's fine. I think it's more important to get a routine established which can then become a habit. Once I don't have to remember to cajole myself into it, I may find a natural, regular urge to have something to write in this abstract, vulnerable, sortofbutnotreally anonymous format.

Cheers!