Sludge

Tomorrow I go in for a colonoscopy. I just started drinking the sludge they give you to cleanse the system. They can perform heart surgery on unborn babies, but they can't come up with a better way to empty one's pipes. At the very least can't they improve the flavor? Sheesh!

Throwback Thursday

     No, that's not me. I'm showcasing Mrs. Peel/Diana Rigg because, sadly, her co-star on The Avengers, Patrick Macnee, passed away recently. I watched their show back in the dawn of time and it brought me a lot of joy. Especially seeing her spinning and kicking in her skin tight leather suit with all the zippers. Mrs. Peel was the perfect English woman--elegant, saucy, playful, strong, and sexy. And that was just her accent. Her face and figure multiplied those assets exponentially.

Garryowen In Glory

This is what the New York Times wrote in the On This Day posting:

"On June 25, 1876, Lt. Col. George A. Custer and his 7th Cavalry were wiped out by Sioux and Cheyenne Indians in the Battle of Little Big Horn in Montana."

This is a lie. 

The Seventh Cavalry was not wiped out. About 200 troopers with Custer were killed, and 50-60 more with the Reno-Benteen contingent, but the Seventh's strength was about 1250 men (not all of whom were in the field that day). About 80% of the Seventh Cavalry lived. You would think someone at the Times could get a simple fact like this right. Incidentally, they posted those exact words last year. Twits.

Father's Day

     Here's mine circa 1940. He's been gone since 1977 and I wish he were here.

My Favorite Father's Day Gift

The following was written by my daughter Kristine last year, and since Father's Day is here I thought I run it. What a great kid, eh?

In spirit of Father’s Day, I thought I would say thank you to my dad for all he has done for me. I feel so incredibly lucky that I grew up with a father who cared so much not only about what was good for his daughters, but also what we wanted to achieve. He was also never short on telling us funny jokes, making us laugh with his hilarious demeanor, and playing with us in our silly games.

My dad has so much to do with the person that I am today and I would like to think that I have taken some of his skills and positive qualities with me. His wit, kindness, musical artistry, writing skills, the ability to stand up for himself, his frugality, love of history, love of horses, and, he would never forgive me if I didn’t mention the attractive traits of the Napier Family (ha ha). He will also go to the edge of the earth for his family and is always there for us when we need him most. It’s even an inspiration to me that he has given up [caffeine free] Diet Coke after God-knows-how-many years of him drinking it. My dad himself probably thinks it’s no big deal, but I think it’s pretty great that he didn’t decide to stay stuck in his old ways.

Sometimes we don’t realize how good we have it while we are growing up.  I, for one, had a dad who continuously supported me and my sister’s love of riding horses from the time we were 10 & 11 until we were 14 & 15. We only stopped because of my decision to do so.  During that time, we were both so passionate about horses–we did not even mind picking up horse poop for free just to be around horses. He drove us back and forth so many times on Saturdays and during the week when he was also working full-time.  He devoted to us about as much time, or more, than we did to our horses and I will never ever forget all that he did especially during that time.  My dad has also supported me and my sister’s educational goals as much as possible, which is also a wonderful gift.  My drive to score high grades and always persevere when academics seem challenging has come from him as well.  As I get older, I realize more and more what a great dad, and parents, I have.

I can never repay you for all that you have done for me, dad, because it is completely invaluable.  But I can try.

Thank You and Happy Father’s Day to my favorite dad in the world. I love you!

Throwback Thursday and Other Memories

     Fifty years ago this month I graduated from high school, and good riddance. I was also the lead singer of The Violations, which was odd because I wasn't much of a singer. Also in the band was Joe Travis (lead guitar/vocals), Bob Juanillo (rhythm guitar), Ronnie Morrisey (drums) and Johnny Kane (bass). Joe was a prodigy and by the time he was in his mid-teens could play circles around anyone in the county. Now, he and Bob are dead; I don't know anything about Ronnie and Johnny.
     Before the summer was out I had been replaced. I didn't blame the guys at all. What little voice I had was shot. Nowadays I sound like a strangled cat when I exercise my pipes.
     The Violations continued for many years with the usual personnel changes. I missed being in the band because it not only was a lot of fun, but I--a skinny geek who was dismissed by every teenage girl as beneath contempt--was now given google eyes by these same creatures. What a difference a microphone makes.

     There are no photos of the group so I'm using a 1964 Beatles picture. Naturally, we did a bunch of their songs--the ones that weren't too challenging vocally, of course.

Throwback Thursday

     My maternal grandparents, Lina and Antonio Servidio. I don't know when the photo was taken but no later than 1950 is my estimate. I also don't know who belongs to the head in the foreground. Grandpa was a shoemaker all his life. Grandma used to crochet tablecloths and doilies and her work was exquisite.

Deer Prudence

     A few days ago this blacktail buck was feeding in front of the house. I went upstairs to get my camera, came downstairs, tiptoed out to the deck, and just as I was about to snap the photo some lamebrain yelled and scared the deer away. Here's what he looks like leaving.

One Smart Kid

     Guess who can write her name now?

Throwback Thursday

     I mentioned the passing of my Aunt Peggy, who died the day before Mother's Day. Here she is with me and my girls about 13 or 14 years ago when she visited the Pacific Northwest.

Throwback Thursday

     Ocean View Elementary School. I went here in the fifth grade and maybe the year earlier circa 1956-7. When I attended this institute of learning I also lived on the Naval Air Station Norfolk, VA. I have a lot of good memories of this school. Funny thing is, the front entrance is not one of them. I always came and went via the rear doors. The city bus, which I rode, let us off about a block away from the left of the building in this photo. There was a mom and pop store there where I'd buy gum from a machine and try to score charms as well. Usually a penny brought out a couple of pieces of gum and two or three charms. I liked the ones with cowboys, Indians, horses, and revolvers. Other kids got comic books, candy, snack cakes, and the fad of the day, snap beads, at the store.
     I recently looked at their web site and was amazed at all the government mandated programs they now have. When I went we just sat there and learned, broke for lunch and recess, and then learned more. Kids who misbehaved got smacked by the teacher or sent to the principal's office for a paddling. For a couple of weeks me and some other guys packed our cap guns on our hips and had impromptu gunfights, sans caps. They made us stop because they thought were we getting out of hand, but not because anyone thought we were going to commit mass murder.
     Those were the days.

Aunt Peggy, RIP

    On this day, May 9, my Aunt Peggy passed away at age 96. When she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last October they gave her three months to live. She beat that by five. That's how she was, though. Tough, scrappy, domineering, and with a large appetite for living. All this and she never reached five feet tall. She will be missed by all who knew her.

    Sofia's Kindercare photos. Four years old.

Throwback Thursday

                                           The Duke, The Cap'n, and The King of the Cowboys

Throwback Thursday

     My girls having lunch circa 1992.

Kit of the Day

     Now here's a kit that won't challenge your modeling skills very much. We have a pine board, a dowel, and a paper sail. A great introductory kit for the young modeler. On eBay for $7.68. Hurry, this will sell fast.

National Siblings Day

     There's about an hour left in the day in my time zone so I'd better get this posted before National Sibling Day is over.
     I have two sisters; one older, one younger. Here we are with our mother in 1985. They are, from left to right: kid sister Denise; mother Gloria; older sister Wendy; me. The dogs belong to Wendy.

Throw Back Thursday

     A Play Doh party with the girls, July 1993.

Happy Birthday, Georgie and April Fool.

     In one of those galactic twists of fate my cousin George was born on this day in 1946. This photo was taken in 1965 when we were clowning around for the camera. In fact, that's my Beatle wig he's wearing. Georgie was always up for something dangerous. Give him a steep hill and something with wheels and he was off, never mind that he had no idea what was at the bottom of that hill. He liked weapons and was always making something deadly from whatever materials were at hand. It's a miracle that he survived childhood.
     But he grew up to be a fairly responsible citizen thanks to a wife who knew how to deal with him, and in his spare time he crafted furniture that was of tremendous quality and beauty.
     So happy birthday, cousin. You sure made my teen years interesting times.

Evan Strikes Again

     My old pal Dave "Evan" Lewis launched a new series in the current issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine--May 2015-- with "The Continental Opposite," an inventive story that has Dashiell Hammett's portly little detective The Continental Op coming out of retirement to clean up corruption in 1953 Portland, Oregon.
     Peter Collins is an operative for the Continental Investigations, Inc. agency. When he learns his boss is in cahoots with the town's criminal kingpin he notifies the main office, who send the unnamed but obvious Continental Op to set things right.
     Inside jokes abound, starting with the protagonist's name. Peter Collins is underworld slang for a nobody, and also a take on Peter Collinson, a pseudonym of Hammett's early in his career. There's a Chinese joint called Hung Lo's. Lots of side-of-the-mouth patter spices up the dialogue and exposition.
     We also have a tong gang, crooked cops, an oily gangster who runs a nightclub, and Peter's mother, who is no June Cleaver, not by a long shot. It's a wild and wooly ride peppered with action, humor and a dash of pathos. I hope AHMM doesn't wait until its annual humor issue to present the next installment.