Old Family Photos

While I was home, I went thru a bunch of old family photos with my mom. Alot of them were damaged during Hurricane Ivan and my mom just hasn't done much with them. I sorted thru them and brought a few home to scan and preserve. Here are the first ones I've scanned.

This is my dad's Air Force portrait and a picture of my mom at around age 17. There's no question where I got my good looks from. (not to mention my modesty) I'm also including a picture of how they look today. A few years older but cute as the dickens as far as I'm concerned. My Aunt Emily took this shot at the reception my mom threw for me and Sarah while we were home. It's rare to get a picture of mama when her eyes aren't shut. I think at this point she was exhausted from the party. Daddy said she worked her fingers to the bone to make that party a success...and it was a great party. I think it's my favorite picture ever taken of them.

Booklist

Alas Babylon by Pat Frank
This story concerns a group of people in Central Florida of 1959 striving to survive in a world devastated by nuclear war. If you've ever seen my list of favorite books of all time you know that this book is one it. I've been reading it every few years since I was in high school. Although the tiniest bit dated it's still a great story. I would love to see this turned into a movie but I wouldn't want to see it updated but set in 1959. Updating it would destroy everything I love about the book: the characters, their relationships, the survival tactics, etc. If you've never read this, give it a try.

Wally's World: the Brilliant Life and Tragic Death of Wally Wood, the World's 2nd Best Comic Book Artist by Steve Starger and J. David Spurlock
The title tells what the book is about. What it doesn't tell is how crappy this book is. It's poorly written and the authors so often spin off on tangent material that you forget what the book is about. I found myself skipping lengthy portions to get to the meat of the story. Do yourself a favor and skip the whole book. If you want to know about Wally Wood, go read about him at Wikipedia.

The Rest of the Trip

We are back in Seattle and having to face the harsh reality of returning to "life as we know it." It was such a great trip we wish it hadn't ended. Then again, I think Sarah might have screamed if she had to meet another friend or relative.

FRIDAY

On Friday we hit the beach and the pool one last time. We packed up, said our goodbyes to my sis and bro-in-law, stopped for a last minute souvenir purchase and headed back to Crestview where we met my parents at my Uncle Terry's house. I hope that Sarah blogs about this because her fresh perspective is quite funny. Uncle Terry is a pharmacist by trade and a darn good one. I would trust his opinion about something medicinal over a doctor any day. Uncle Terry's hobby, nay obsession, is junk. He might call it antiquing and much of what he collects is antique but the term doesn't allow for the other things that accumulate at his house. He and Jody have a beautiful home...in fact they have 3 sitting on the same piece of property and they are all full to overflowing with stuff. He also has at least one giant shed full to the brim with stuff. His property is landscaped and quite beautiful but it is an assault on the eyes because there's so much stuff. I could have stayed there a week and not taken the same photograph twice. One of the things he collects is old quilts and he has some good ones. Jody says he has about 140. It's Florida. Who needs 140 quilts in Florida. 'Nuff said.

After that, we swung by my parent's property in Holt. It's a beautiful tract of land on a lake and it has tons of potential. They have already built a garage/storage building there. As soon as their house sells in Milton I guess they'll start the process of building there.

On the other side of the lake is my Uncle Jerry and Aunt Emily's place they call "Largo." It's a great little home on the water and it's really beautiful there. They have built a guest house on the property as well and it is called "Little Largo."

After taking the tour of all the Gordon homes in Holt, we went back to Crestview to see Granny again, and ate dinner at Cracker Barrel (chicken and dumplings, biscuits with apple butter...heaven!). On the way back to Milton we stopped at my sis's house to see the baby chickens and the goat. The goat was apparently hungry because I turned around and he tried to eat my elbow. Sarah says I jumped. Well, wouldn't you?

Once back to my parents house we sat around for a bit and then we watched some old home movies on DVD of my parents wedding and us as kids. It was quite funny. I have the DVD and I need to get it copied.

SATURDAY

On Saturday, we headed into Pensacola to see some sights and visit friends. We went by my parent's first (rental) and second (built) homes, the ones I lived in as a baby and child. We also visited the street where my Papa's (pronounced Paw-Paw) old house stands and where another of our old houses used to be. It was destroyed in Hurricane Ivan in 2004. While cruising down memory lane we stopped by Whitmire Cemetary to visit Nana and Papa's graves. I got a little emotional because I haven't been there in a long while. We cleaned off the sites as best we could and then headed off to meet friends. I also took Sarah by the church I grew up in (Olive Baptist) since we had to meet some friends there. It's a huge church. There was a women's conference going on and attendance was 3500. All the toilets were overflowing because of the volume of use. Quite funny if you think about it. I have lots of great memories from that church but going back is just not the same. It's changed so much.

After a day of visits, we went out to dinner with my parents and spent the evening back at the house chatting and getting packed. The next morning we rose at 3am and headed to the airport for our flight. We got home yesterday afternoon.

I'm sure it will take several days to get back in the swing. I have tons of art shows to get ready for plus I have lots of pictures to sort thru including a bunch of old family photos that I need to scan. I'm sure I'll be sharing lots of pics with you all over the coming days and weeks. Make sure you check my photo site too.

It was a great trip and despite not wanting to come back, we are glad to be home and happy to have Mickey (our cat) back with us. He's been a bit clingy since returning from the spa (Sarah's term for boarding him at the vet) but that's understandable. I would start counting the days until our next vacation but I'm not sure when that will be. Until then, I have the memories of a great homecoming vacation in Florida to keep me going.

Something's Fishy!

Today we grabbed a quick lunch at a chinese buffet and then shopped around a bit. We went to the gigantic Bass Pro Shop and had fun with the fish in the tank. That one fish in the pic is a redfish. I didn't know they got that big. I have caught some big redfish before but nowhere near that size. We also tooled around the fancy schmancy outdoor mall but found nothing.

Later in the afternoon, David came by for a visit. In a while, the Randolph clan got here and the kids immediately descended upon the pool. After the aquatic activities ceased we met Todd and Bridgett at Fudpucker's for dinner. Really nice visit but way too short.

The other pic is from the restaurant we ate at the night before. It was very, very good. We sat on the back deck and watched the sunset as we dined on fresh seafood. A nice evening all around.

I'm not sure if we'll get to do the dolphin waverunner excursion. It appears that Sarah's sunburn is too severe to risk going back out for extended periods of time. Oh well, there's always next time. And there will be a next time if I have anything to say about it. Destin may be overdeveloped but it's still a pretty cool place to hang out. And it's near my hometown. Win-win.

Burnt to a Crisp!

Well, we've had to change our plans for the day. We've postponed the dolphin waverunner excursion to tomorrow due to the fact that Sarah has a pretty respectable sunburn. My feet and the back of my neck are red but she's a bit crispy. We're going to head out, do a little shopping type stuff and then tonight some old friends of mine are coming over here for dinner. It'll be great to spend some quality time with them since the reception was chaos. Fun, but chaos. My parents have packed up and gone to the house leaving Sarah and I alone for 24 hours. I'm sure it will be a good little break from the frenetic energy of the week. It's been alot of fun this week though. My sis and bro-in-law are going to come tomorrow and spend the rest of the weekend here since their place expires. We'll check out tomorrow and head back toward the homestead with a few stops along the way. More about that later.

Water, Water Everywhere!

Today has been fun so far. Sarah hit the beach this morning then we rented 2 waverunners with my sis and bro-in-law. That was fun! We spent 2 hours riding around the gulf and the bay just checking out the sights and satisfying the need for speed on the water. When we returned to the beach to pick up our stuff before turning the waverunners in we found that someone had stolen the beach towel I bought the other day. They left the cooler but I'm not surprised. That thing weighed about 75 lbs. We were only out there 2 hours but my sister packed enough drinks for the entire coast guard. Maybe it was meant to be a bribe if we got pulled over. Speaking of my sis, she thought the people down the beach had stolen the towel so she headed down there for some good old redneck justice. (Insert Good, Bad and Ugly music here) No sign of the towel so there was no need for a butt-whoopin'.
Later we're going to Fisherman's Wharf for a seafood dinner. Tomorrow Sarah and I are thinking about taking a dolphin waverunner excursion. We're milking this vacation for all it's worth. Oh, I'll have to post water adventure pics later. We've been taking a cheap disposable camera out on the water so as not to lose the expensive digital camera. I'll post pics when we finish the camera and get 'em developed at the Wal-Mart.
Later gators!

Day of the Dolphins

Today was pretty laid back. We spent a bit of time at the beach this morning then went for a short swim in the condo pool. After lunch we headed over to see where Cindy and Brian are staying. It's very nice. We wandered around there for a while checking into possibilities for canoeing, waverunners, etc. We walked thru the marina, some trails with treehouses and a little shopping village. Later in the afternoon we headed down the beach for our dolphin cruise.

We got there too early so we checked into waverunners down there. We decided we would do that tomorrow. We watched some of the deep sea fishing dudes clean their catches then we got our tickets and got on the boat. We had a great cruise! Perfect weather, funny birds, tons of dolphin activity and a beautiful sunset. I didn't get any good dolphin shots. They're just too unpredictable. I instead shot several movies of the dolphins and I hope to be able to share those later if I can figure out a way to convert and edit them.

After that we returned to the condo for dinner then Sarah and I went out for ice cream and a bit of late night shopping at the local tourist junk shops. Off to bed soon. Tomorrow is a long day of beaching, waverunning and eating seafood. Life's rough.

Shop 'Til You Drop

Today we concentrated on shopping. We avoided the glitzy glamour of the ritzy Destin shops and opted for the few thrift stores the beach had to offer. As luck would have it, I found a few short sleeve shirts (which I needed) and Sarah found some clothes as well. We spent pretty much the whole day shopping. We ate lunch at Golden Corral, a southern trough of buffet style eating. It was good! After a quick trip to Wal-Mart for a few necessities and a longer-than-I-thought wait for Sarah at the scrapbook outlet, we came back to the condo and Sarah headed over to the beach. I joined her a bit later as I like to keep my skin as soft and supple as possible. I had hoped to get a few shots of the sunset but the huge beachside condos blocked my view. I won't go into a tirade about overdevelopment at the beach. Just suffice it to say that I don't like it. Not one bit.

Tomorrow we will check out my sis and bro-in-law's deluxe accomodations down the beach a ways. We have the option of moving in with them for the rest of the week or staying put. Not sure what the decision will be but I think it will hinge on the fact that we don't want to move our stuff around anymore. Later tomorrow afternoon we will be taking a sunset dolphin cruise. I hope to get some good pics then. I assume we will be in a place where the sun isn't blocked by a 20 story monstrosity of a beach condo.

Visiting Granny

Today we visited Granny Gordon at the nursing home. She was happy to see us all and to finally meet Sarah. After we all arrived, we gathered in the community room for the singing. My dad and his brothers sing for the residents as often as they can. I didn't realize that it was just the boys up front leading. There's just something about the Gordon women and not singing. Up front this time around was me, my dad, Uncle Jerry, Uncle Terry recuperating from knee surgery and cousin Benny. We sang a bunch of old hymns and I sang a couple of solos. Me and my dad sang a duet on one song. In the picture it looks like I'm shoving the microphone in his ear but I promise that's not the case. It was nice to be there with the family and sing but my voice gave out a couple of times. I know everybody had a good time though and that's what matters. Sarah said that she and my mom teared up during one of my songs. I know that my mom and dad have been thrilled that we're finally visiting after so long. It's been a tiring but fun 2 days so far.

In attendance today were Uncle Jerry and Aunt Emily, Uncle Terry and Aunt Jodi, cousin Benny, cousin Gina and her oldest daughter Megan, Dad's cousins Pat and Bill (my childhood dentist) and Shirley, Mom and Dad, sister Cindy. and me and Sarah.

After we said our goodbyes to the relatives we hopped in the vehicles headed to the beach. Surf, sand and sun...here we come!

We Are Here, We Are Here, We Are Here!

We are here...oh, I said that already. We are sitting in our condo in Destin, FL. It's been a great weekend so far. I'll take some time later to give some reports. Thank goodness they have wifi at the condo. For all you folks in Seattle who had snow on Saturday we were enjoying a beautiful day in the breezy sunshine. Don't hate us because we're warm!
More later.

The Reception

Sarah got up at 7:30 and I followed her at 8:00. Today was the big reception and there was stuff to do. Sarah made her famous salsa and I did a few jobs here and there as they ordered me. We got it all done and were sitting on the back porch when the first of the early worms arrived.
Sidebar: Let me just tell you that I love being here in the country again after 3 years of living in the city. It’s so quiet. All you hear is the birds and the bullfrogs. It’s really peaceful. I love the city but I miss being able to escape to the country. To top it all off it was a beautiful day. Meanwhile, we heard that it was snowing in Seattle. Needless to say, we were glad to be in Florida.
Okay, back to the reception. Well, what can I say? It was an amazing day! So many people came it was really overwhelming. I’d say there was probably around 80 or more folks who came thru. And they all stayed for pretty lengthy visits. The reception may have been staged for me and Sarah but it turned into a real reunion for a lot of the old guard from the church I grew up at. There was also a great many relatives who dropped by. It was so good to see everyone and everybody had a great time! My friend Beth remarked that the church has gotten so big and so many of the older folks have passed away that it’s just not the same. The only time they get to see everybody is at funerals. She remarked that it was so good to be able to fellowship without it being because someone died.
Sarah was, of course, a big hit. I had more than enough people tell me how lucky I am. I wonder if anyone told her that she was the lucky one? Probably not. It was almost impossible to visit with everyone but most folks just found a pocket of friends and caught up. The back porch and yard were full of people. I can’t describe it. It was just a great day. We hope that we can catch up with some of my close friends later in the week. That would be really awesome. I hope we can fit it all in.
Tonight we are all exhausted. My mom did an incredible job putting this thing together. She is so happy that we’re here. And I’ll tell you the truth. It’s good to be home. I haven’t been here in 3 years. It’s been even longer than that since I’ve seen a good many of these folks. Several years ago I just sort of stopped visiting my old church. I can’t explain what I was going thru but I think it was a way for me to put that all behind me so I could become my own person. At first, I was nervous about the idea of a reception for all the home crew. I wondered if folks would just not show up or have forgotten about me. I pretty much found out today that I’ve got some good old friends here in the Pensacola area. It was a good day.

In the picture above: Sister Cindy and bro-in-law Brian, Mom and Dad, Me and Sarah.

Travel Day

After dropping Mickey off at the vet, Julie and Baby Gaby took us to the airport. We flew out at 11:20 am and landed at DFW around 5:10 Central Time. We took a walk to stretch our legs and finally found our gate only to find that it was changed. We walked to that gate and found it changed again. We then walked to another gate and waited…and waited…and waited. Finally we move to an adjacent gate and board the plane. At this point we’re at a 40 minute delay. Then, we sit on the plane for a while. Eventually a flight attendant shares with us that they are waiting for a pilot. They don’t know who he is or where he is. Great! Finally, the pilot shows up and we eventually leave the ground. We arrived in Pensacola around 10 pm…a full 1.5 hours past when we were supposed to arrive. We meet Daddy and my sister Cindy as we head out to baggage claim and find out that Mama is sick from the Chick-Fil-A dinner they had on the way to the airport. After riding the porcelain bus, she feels better. We grabbed our luggage which did arrive with us (yay) and headed for the homestead. By the time we got there it was late so we pretty much went to bed.
Once again, American Airlines demonstrates their superior ability to screw up a person’s travel plans. I love them so much!

Vacation, All I Ever Wanted!

Woo hoo! It's almost here. We leave in the morning for 10 glorious days away from Seattle. Don't get me wrong...I love Seattle but a change of scenery and time away from work is much needed. Plus, I haven't been home to Florida in 3 years not to mention that I haven't seen my folks since the wedding over 2 years ago.
I'll try to post while we're gone but I don't know what the internet status will be at the beach. I'm sure I can find some wifi hotspots somewhere. We'll see.
Meanwhile, color me gone. Catch you on the flip-flop, good buddy.

Florida in my Mind

Man, I am so already in Florida it's not even funny. I have been useless this week. I have gotten next to nothing accomplished and have the energy of a wet noodle. Friday can't get here fast enough for me.

The Visitor

Hadn't heard of this movie but I really want to see it. It's by the director of The Station Agent and it has djembe drums in it. What else could you ask for?

Booklist

In The Company of Ogres by A. Lee Martinez

"For someone who's immortal, Never Dead Ned manages to die with alarming frequency--he just has the annoying habit of rising from the grave. But this soldier might be better dead than face his latest assignment. Ogre Company is the legion's dumping ground--a motley, undisciplined group of monsters whose leaders tend to die under somewhat questionable circumstances. That's where Ned's rather unique talents come in. As Ogre Company's newly appointed commander, Ned finds himself in charge of such fine examples of military prowess as a moonstruck Amazon, a very big (and very polite) two-headed ogre, a seductively scaly siren, a blind oracle who can hear (and smell) the future, a suicidal goblin daredevil pilot, a walking tree with a chip on its shoulder, and a suspiciously goblinesque orc .Ned has only six months to whip the Ogre Company into shape or face an even more hideous assignment, but that's not the worst of his problems. Because now that Ned has found out why he keeps returning from dead, he has to do everything he can to stay alive."

Well, my A. Lee Martinez days may be over for a while. I didn't like this book at all. Why did I read the whole thing? I don't know. I suppose I thought it would get better. It didn't. It's not that it's poorly written or anything like that...it's just that I didn't particularly like the story.

Carry On Wayward Son

They Say It's Your Birthday!

Yesterday was my good buddy Marshall's 50th birthday. His wife Joan threw him a mack daddy of a party with wonderful food, drink and entertainment by Midlife Chrysler. It was a lot of fun. It was my first gig with the band. It's been quite a few years since I've performed in front of an audience and I was a bit nervous but I think it went really well. A huge thank you goes out to Kent for being our sound man.
I have quite a few embarrassing pics of Marshall that I'm tempted to post but I'll have mercy on the big lug. Besides nothing beats the pic of him as a kid with his butt stuck in a bucket. Perhaps he'll share over on his blog. I'll not rob him of that glory.

And besides that, he's bigger than me.

Vacation...

...is a tad over a week away. We fly out on the 18th for the hopefully sunny shores of the Gulf Coast. We both need a break in a bad way, Sarah more than me for sure. Of course, on the brink of our cross-country flight American Airlines is cancelling flights left and right. I hope they get it all sorted out before we leave. They managed to put a nice little damper on the first days of our Christmas trip. While home, my mom is having a casual reception for us. It's a kind of "two years later" wedding reception since most folks couldn't make the trek to Seattle for the big event. My mom has told me of a lot of folks who are coming. It will be nice to see everyone and introduce them to Sarah.

We're also going to take part in a gospel sing at the nursing home where my Granny resides. This is something my family does from time to time. They love to gather around the piano and sing hymns. Since Granny has been in the nursing home they have gathered there and played for not just her but anyone else who wants to listen.

The rest of the week we will spend at my parent's time-share on the beaches of Destin. We plan on shopping, swimming, taking a sunset dolphin cruise, renting some waverunners, eating seafood, playing Putt-Putt golf (a tradition) and spending a lot of time being lazy. I'm sure it will be glorious.

New Home for Squirrelman

Go here to read the incredible story of how Squirrelman was given a new home. It'll make you feel all warm and fuzzy. I promise.

Squirrelman

Check out this story about a homeless man in Seattle who built an amazing treehouse and has lived in it for 2 years. He is in the process of being evicted. Sad.
I really admire this guy for being so innovative. He has truly taken lemons and made lemonade. Housing costs in Seattle are so ridiculous it's tough for even working folks to afford a home. Leave the Squirrelman alone!

Charlton Heston: 1923 - 2008

Charlton Heston was perhaps one of first actors/movie stars that made a difference in my world. Why? Because he did so many movies that a kid would love. I remember as a boy watching with much excitement such movies as The Ten Commandments, Ben Hur, Soylent Green, The Omega Man, The Warlord, El Cid, and the Planet of the Apes films. It was the last series that really captured my imagination. In fact, I recently purchased the box set of DVD's for my collection.
Heston was over-the-top. He could chew scenery better than almost anyone. And the fact that he did alot of it in sci-fi, biblical epic, and period films cemented his legend in my life of becoming a somewhat geeky fan of said films.
Heston, there'll never be anyone else like you. I hope you're upstairs gabbing with the Big Man about guns and Moses. That thought makes me smile.

What is Art?

Pioneer Square Art Walk

Marshall and I explored the Pioneer Square Art Walk last night. I braved a bus ride downtown to meet him. It was quite funny when I got there. I called him and he was standing 2 blocks away telling me which way to go but I couldn't see him. Duh.

We had a nice time strolling thru the area. Pioneer Square is an interesting place...great for people watching. And it's a good idea to watch the people because some of them need watching. Marshall had to guard the door while I used the bathroom because there was this freakazoid street lady who kept opening the door to expose the clueless folks inside trying to get some relief.

Eventually we got around to seeing some art. We saw some good stuff and we saw some crap. Let me start with the crap. We went in this one gallery that shall remain nameless. It represented every cliche that you've ever seen or heard of about art. Prententious is the word we used. The first piece we saw as we walked in the door was two framed pieces of paper. Right in the middle were 4 typed sentences. I don't remember what they said but that's not important. That's all it was. I don't care if it said, "There's a million dollars on the roof of this gallery. All you have to do is go get it." It just wasn't art. Poetry maybe...art, no! That piece prompted me to create my rebuttal you see above. Do you like it? Is it pretentious enough for you? We actually wandered further into the gallery which was packed with the artsy in crowd and, I'm sure, a few folks like us who had there crap detectors set on full blast. Once I saw the weird videos I was ready to go.

We did see some really good stuff though. The highlight for me was the show "Glue" at Linda Hodges Gallery. It was a mixed media show and it was truly some great work. We wandered thru the labyrinthine Toshiro Kaplan building which houses a bunch of galleries and studios. It was overwhelming and so jam packed full of people. After a while my belly started crying out for food so we headed out to Red Robin for a burger.

I'm certain Marshall and I will head back down this summer with our cameras. There's a lot of great stuff to photograph in the area. We just have to wait for the light.

Art News

Sarah and I took down my show at Trabant Coffee and Chai in the U-District this afternoon. The good news...they sold quite a few prints. The better news...they wanted to keep selling them. So, I left them a bunch of prints and I walked out with enough money to replenish my depleted print supply.
Last week, I attended a meeting about the new Wallingford Art Walk. While there, I hooked up with John and Kara from Not A Number Cards and Gifts. They wanted to carry some of my art in their shop so I hooked them up. I dropped off more prints at their store today. All the prints I have are now being sold somewhere in town. Hopefully I'll be able to put in a new order tomorrow.
I have no shows in April which was planned. We are going on vacation in a couple of weeks and I need to get back into the swing of getting some new art done. I have 3 art walks in May and I am booked solid with somewhere to show thru the first part of September. Pretty exciting stuff.

Take a Mickey Break

I just had to snap this pic of Mickey, our lovable curmudgeon of a cat. A couple of weeks ago when I was working on the painting for Stations of the Cross, he got into the charcoal and his paws were black. We washed them down to a dull grey and it still hasn't completely worn off. He's such a doofus.

Life is a Cabaret, Old Chum!

Neither Sarah or I have ever seen Cabaret so we were happy to accept comps to see the Fifth Avenue Theatre's version of the show. It was a good show, very colorful and energetic. I must say the ending is quite a downer though.

Booklist

The Automatic Detective by A. Lee Martinez

"Even in Empire City, a town where weird science is the hope for tomorrow, it's hard for a robot to make his way. It's even harder for a robot named Mack Megaton, a hulking machine designed to bring mankind to its knees. But Mack's not interested in world domination. He's just a bot trying to get by, trying to demonstrate that he isn't just an automated smashing machine, and to earn his citizenship in the process. It should be as easy as crushing a tank for Mack, but some bots just can't catch a break.When Mack's neighbors are kidnapped, Mack sets off on a journey through the dark alleys and gleaming skyscrapers of Empire City. Along the way, he runs afoul of a talking gorilla, a brainy dame, a mutant lowlife, a little green mob boss, and the secret conspiracy at the heart of Empire's founders---not to mention more trouble than he bargained for. What started out as one missing family becomes a battle for the future of Empire and every citizen that calls her home."

Although slow to start, I really liked this story. Mack is a very likable character even if he is just a robot. Through all the ups and downs of his quest to find the missing family, you continue to pull for Mack. The action is quite fun in a sci-fi, comic book way. I could visualize it in my head as an animated film. This is the second book by Martinez that I have read. The first was Gil's All Fright Diner which was also a fun book. Apparently Martinez doesn't intend on writing any sequels because he continues to write other books. I, for one, would love to read sequels to the two I've read and I will get the ones I haven't read post haste.