Friday Photo Flashback

Ok, the last two weeks were flashbacks of a serious nature, so I thought I would find a picture I could pick apart a bit. I know Max over at the PowerPop blog loves these photos.

According to the date stamp, this was developed in 1988 (the year I graduated from high school). That being said, we never seemed to develop film right away, so this could have been taken in 1987. Welcome to a little corner of my brother’s room.

The first thing that hits me are two 70’s/80’s decorative staples – Paneling and wallpaper! I can still remember when my folks hung that astronaut wallpaper. I cannot remember if this was my room first or my brother’s. At some point, maybe before they hung the wallpaper, we switched rooms. Mine had globes and maps on the wall.

While my brother and I are very different, we are also very similar. Case in point: we both had shelves in our rooms for photos and display pieces. My shelves had Three Stooges dolls, a couple autographed pictures, ceramic pieces that my mother had made, and little collectibles. This bookcase/shelving unit was were my brother displayed many of his favorite things and photos.

Before I look at the shelves, I want to point out that in 1987 our band went to Disney in Florida and marched in a parade there. The Goofy hat on the wall was something that I believe both my brother and I had. I have no idea what that red thing is hanging in the upper left of this picture. He may remember.

I have blogged in the past about mom’s ceramics hobby and this photo features some of her work. You can read about that hobby here:

Another Mom Memory

We were obviously into Star Wars back then. Starting at the left on the top shelf is the first Star Wars piece mom made, R2-D2. She may have asked the two of us what pieces we’d like for her to make for us. I seem to remember asking for Chewbacca, who is next on the shelf. The R2-D2 was fairly simple. The detail was good and it had a shine to it. I remember my mom did something different with Chewbacca. For the life of me, I can’t remember what she called it, but it had more of a dirt/flat look to it. You really can’t tell, but in front of Chewbacca is the controls to the Millennium Falcon. I remember thinking how professional the thing looked and thinking, “My mom made this!”

In front of Chewbacca is a small ceramic cat that mom made for my brother. It is much like the little pieces that I mentioned in the blog link above. I have to chuckle at the that coconut next to Chewbacca. We both had one, I think one was just a single person, while it looks like Chris’s may have been two. I think those were banks, but I could be wrong. Did we get those at Disney, too? I think so, but I cannot recall.

Next to that coconut is one of the best pieces my mom ever did – Yoda. This was the final Star Wars piece she worked on and it was fantastic. She was always trying new things and for Yoda’s coat, she used some kind of sandy stucco stuff that really made it look cool. The detail on this piece was just amazing.

Before moving to the last piece on the top shelf, I have to point out that the US and Italian Flags on that shelf were something that we both got while in Epcot, a trip that (for me) was cut short because of an ambulance ride to the hospital (it was nothing).

The last piece on that shelf may be the piece that started it all for my brother’s Wonder Woman collection. He has always loved the show, the comics, and everything about her. At one point he had enough Wonder Woman stuff to fill that entire book case. Today he has a Wonder Woman ROOM!

As you move down a shelf, there are a load of pictures that I know just by looking at them. Even though they are blurry in this photo, I know exactly what they are. The first is a photo of my folks, my brother, and my grandma in Florida. It was one of those “old time” photos. I was off with my friends when they had it taken. Then there are photos of my Aunt Jodi and my grandma. I’m not sure where the cross came from, but it looks like maybe there is a rosary hanging from it. (We were raised Catholic, but no longer practice that). Then there is a photo of my other grandparents, my cheesy senior picture, my brother’s favorite photo of him and my grandpa, a Polaroid of a lot of us on squeezed on the couch with my other grandpa and our dad, and finally another old time photo of Chris and my dad in some Civil War get up.

I have to admit that the dog on the shelf below the photo shelf looked familiar. I kept thinking it was something like Teddy Ruxpin and I wasn’t far off. Long before they produced Webkinz, Ganz made Wrinkles Talking Dogs. When I looked it up, it said it was a puppet.

Each one of those dogs had a tag with a number on it, making each one unique. Ebay had one for sale – for $400!! Yikes.

Back to the photo…I remember Garfield being a big deal around this time. All of the school book sales had Garfield books, the book stores always had a big display of them, and it was always on the front page of the Sunday comics page. Not to mention the TV show and movies… I don’t remember my brother being into Garfield, but there he is with Odie. Another picture of grandma and Jodi in on that shelf, too.

Here’s where it get’s sketchy, but I can make out most of the rest of the photo. Below Garfield are Disney’s Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and Goofy (that’s a tiny bit of his hat you can see). My brother has always loved Disney and goes there almost annually. If I had $5 for every Disney Character he has taken a photo with, I could maybe fund a trip to Disney!

Just a couple more observations. Next to the Disney stuffies, you can make out the top of an old time radio. I think, and I may be wrong, my brother and I both had one of these. You could listen to AM/FM radio on it and on the side was a spot you slid a cassette tape in to listen to it. We had MANY old radio shows on cassette and listened to them often.

Finally, in the bottom right corner of the photo is a TV. I laughed out loud when I saw the dials to change the channels on it! My first thought was that the box on top of it was a cable box, but it is too early for that. I’m pretty sure that was my brother’s alarm clock. That TV was the one we played Atari and Nintendo on back in the day. We may even have had a Betamax video player in there. Those were the days!!

I’ll have to find a photo of the shelves in my room to share one day. If I do, I will warn you, my room was always a disaster!

Cast the Movie of Your Life

The Word Press App on my phone will offer a daily writing prompt to bloggers. I subscribe to a few “prompt” emails and such, and they can certainly be thought starters. Today’s prompt was one I had considered before and I may have even been asked a similar question by a Facebook friend. The prompt:

They are making a movie about your life. Cast it. (Keith adds – with any actors living or dead)

My thoughts on this are to jot down what comes to mind immediately for some (not all) of my family, and a few friends (other friends may request I suggest an actor/actress for them if they really want me to). I will then continue to ponder the question and see if, after thinking it over, I would change any of my choices.

Dom Deluise – No Brainer. This has always been my answer to this question!

My wife, Sam –

This was tough. I tried to think of who might look like her and carry herself like Sam. Toss up between Charlize Theron and Olivia Wilde.

My Dad

I’m not sure there would be any better than Jackie Gleason to play my dad

My Mom

Who in the world could play my mom? Tough question and still not really sure, but I forced myself to pick someone. At times, Cathy Bates’ facial expressions remind me of her, so for now – that’ my pick.

My Brother – Chris

Really difficult pick. So just because it will either make him laugh (and he needs that, because he is recovering from Covid) or it will make him mad… William Shatner (Because I wanted to post this stupid picture!)

My Grandma and Grandpa P

Estelle Getty on Golden Girls WAS my grandma! I always felt Abe Vigoda looked like my grandpa, so there ya go.

My Grandma and Grandpa D.

I have always felt like at times, Betty White reminded me of my grandma. My grandpa was tall, a bit heavy, and always smiling. John Goodman reminds me of him.

My best friend, Jeff

Another no brainer. I’ve said for years that he reminds me of Robin Williams.

My friend Steve K.

Steve always has some sort of crazy fact that seems unbelievable to tell. So, he would be John Ratzenberger – but John Ratzenberger AS Cliff Claven from Cheers.

My friend Joe K.

Joe is probably one of the smartest guys I know. At first, I couldn’t get Jeff Goldblum out of my head, and then I though Rainn Wilson is a bit more “Joe” to me.

My friend Steve M.

Steve and I wear our hair the same. My first choice was Vin Diesel, but then I though Michael Chiklis looked more like him (and he played Curly in a Three Stooges movie, so he wins).

My friend Margaret M.

She’s Italian. She’s fiesty. She is strong. She is an expert at inserting profanity into conversation. Without a doubt – Marisa Tomei.

My friend, Chris B,

Tall and funny = Conan O’Brien

Uh …… I’m Stumped

Now, as far as my kids …. I’m just not sure. My older boys (Dante’ and Dimitri) have personalities that are very established. Ella does in a sense as well. Andrew is just a smiling happy baby. How do I begin to pick who will play them? I just don’t know….

It’s my blog and my rules. Let me think a bit on this ….

If I left you out …. and you want me to think about who will play you – let me know. In the meantime ….

Go ahead and cast YOUR life. Who would play YOU?

Has it really been 40 years?!

The man in the picture above is my grandpa. He was my mom’s dad. In February of 2018, I blogged about him in the following blog on his birthday:

I only got 11 years …

As I was going through my Facebook memories, I realized that it was 40 years ago today that he passed away. It was the first time in my life I ever had to deal with someone close to me dying. As an 11 year old kid, this rocked my world. It was one of those days that is forever etched in my memory.

I recall the phone ringing early that morning. I remember my mom frantically running around, calling my dad at work, and waking my brother and I up. The call was from my grandmother, who had received a call that my grandfather was in Muskegon hospital and had a heart attack. There obviously were many other phone calls to others as everyone rushed to get dressed and out the door.

My brother and I were obviously NOT going to school that day. My parents dropped me off at my other grandparents house for the day. They immediately headed to my grandmother’s to pick her up. I believe my aunt and uncle met them there and they all drove to Muskegon (an approximately 3 hour drive).

Along the way, if memory serves me correctly, my dad was pulled over for speeding. Once the officer heard what was going on, they received a police escort to the hospital. By the time they arrived, however, it was too late. My grandfather had already passed away.

1980 – Christmas Eve – Grandma and Grandpa at the familiar dining table with the huge wooden spoon and fork on the wall.

From the time we were dropped off at my grandparents, my grandma tried to keep us occupied. While much of that time is a blur, I remember when the phone rang and my grandma answered the phone. I remember seeing her get visibly shaken and asked many questions. I recall being anxious to find out what was going on. That is when my grandma slowly got up from the table, hung the phone back up on the wall and sat down next to us on the couch.

“I’m sorry, boys. Grandpa died at the hospital.” I remember crying and not even knowing why I was crying! None of it made any sense to me. I asked when he was coming home and was told that he wasn’t. I remember hoping that it was all a dream or just some false information. I just couldn’t comprehend it all.

I had never been to a funeral in my life. I had never seen anyone in a casket. I remember the days prior to the funeral and a lot of people in and out of my grandma’s house. I recall standing out in the driveway in between cars questioning God as to why this was happening. I just didn’t understand it.

I saw how upset my grandma, my mom, and my aunts were. I saw how it affected my dad and his parents. My cousins were still really too young to grasp any of what was going on. I am not sure my brother really did either. While watching all of them, and seeing how they were feeling, I still couldn’t figure out what I was feeling either!

Grandma holding me while Grandpa looks on …

As with most funerals, there is a time for just family to come in. I recall my mom, my aunts, and my grandma crying. I was scared to go up to the casket. I remember my dad asking me if I was ok and if I wanted to go up there. He knew I was scared and told me it was ok. I remember it being very weird. There was my grandpa, who was always so full of life and laughing, just laying there. I touched his hand and remember being freaked out at how cold he was. My dad did the best he could to explain things to me. I just didn’t get it. Perhaps, I didn’t want to get it. I think deep down, I didn’t want any of it to be real!

One thing that really stands out in my memory about that day was the amount of people who paid their respects to him. There were SO many people there. Family, friends, sales associates, and more. I met many people that he knew while at the funeral home. My grandma, or my mom, or my dad would introduce me to someone and they all had nice things to say about him. “You’re grandpa was a great friend,” “You’re grandpa loved you,” “You’re grandpa was very special to me,” and on and on. I knew how much he meant to me, but to see all the people that knew him, loved him, and respected him … I had a whole new view of him. His life crossed paths with many people and he made an impression. He was loved by more people than I realized.

Grandpa and me – Christmas 1970. I am 7 months old here

I remember going to church with him as a kid. I often sat next to him and would draw pictures in the church bulletin. I would draw pictures of Jonah and the whale, Jesus coming out of the tomb, or just pictures of rainbows and such. I have long forgotten what his voice sounded like, but I remember his voice booming when he sang a hymn at church.

My grandma had an end table in their living room that had doors on it. Inside the table was a stack of coloring books and crayons. I didn’t often listen to what the adults talked about, but one conversation I over heard parts of and I vividly recall my grandpa saying to someone, “One day I’ll see my Savior face to face and that will be amazing.”

I don’t really know how I came to be the one who got this, but I know that this was something that my grandpa carried around in his wallet. It was folded in half. The cross is a bit crushed now, but I still have it:

In a way, the above poem brings comfort to me. I know that my grandpa has indeed met his Savior face to face. I also know that in the future, so will I. There will also be a wonderful reunion in the future, and I will see him again.

40 years have flown by. So many milestones and changes have occurred. Yet so many things surrounding the events of September 24, 1981 are as clear as ever in my memory. As I stated in my previous blog:

The first real life lesson was learned by me that September. If there is someone special in your life who means something to you – tell them! If you love someone – tell them! Never pass up the opportunity to hug or kiss someone! You may never get the chance to do it again.

I was truly lucky to have had 11 wonderful years with him in my life.

Gone Fishing

One of my favorite fishing jokes comes from Soupy Sales:

Two guys are out on a boat fishing and one guy is pulling in all the fish. His fishing buddy hasn’t had even a nibble the whole time they’ve been on the lake. So, he asks his buddy what his secret is.

“Well, when I wake up in the morning I look at my wife. If she is sleeping on her left side, then I fish off the left side of the boat. If she is sleeping on her right side, I fish off the right side of the boat.”

His buddy asks, “Well, what if she’s sleeping on her back?” The guy says, “Then brother, I certainly don’t go fishing!!”

First Fishing Memory

Before my grandparents bought their trailer in Caseville, we would occasionally go up and stay at the trailer owned by my great aunt. I remember my dad and my grandpa took me out to a small lake (pictured above) where I first was grossed out by putting a worm on a hook. That lake would eventually be right behind the lot where my grandparents trailer would be.

I remember my grandpa helping me with the bobber that would float in the water. I also remember my dad putting a bell on the end of my fishing rod. There was no way a 7 or 8 year old kid could miss a fish if the bell rang and the bobber was pulled under the surface of the lake. Sure enough the bell rang and the bobber went under and I started reeling in.

What was on the end of the line was the ugliest catfish you have ever seen! There was no way I was touching that thing and my grandpa grabbed it, pulled it off the hook, and tossed it back in the lake. The lake was stocked by the guy who lived across the street from my grandparents as I recall. There were perch, bluegill, catfish, and pike in the lake.

Anyway, when we got back to the trailer, I was so excited. I told my mom, my grandma, and everyone else who would listen that I caught a fish. I don’t think there was a phone at my aunt’s place, and I asked my dad how I could let my other grandparents know about my fishing expedition. He suggested I write a letter, which I did. I am sure we never mailed it, but I did tell him about it when we saw them.

Uglier than the catfish? Yes.

When we weren’t fishing at the back lake, we would go and fish of the pier in Caseville. I remember going to the store and my dad buying us some cheap plastic tackle boxes for when we went fishing. I don’t remember for sure, but I am almost positive that it was my brother who knocked my grandpa’s tackle box off the pier and into the water. One of my favorite pictures of my brother and I was taken on the pier. As you can see, I obviously dressed myself … what the hell am I wearing in this picture?!

One day while fishing off the pier, my mother got a bite. She fought and fought whatever fish was on the end of the line. I remember the excitement of wanting to know what it was. When she pulled it out of the water, it was a huge sheephead. I remember my grandpa saying that those were great fighters, but that was about all they were good for.

A few years later, I caught a fish off the pier and brought the dumb, smelly thing home with me, so I could get a picture with it. I used to love this silly “fishing” hat I am wearing in the picture.

Skidway Lake

There was another fishing trip that I took with some friends from school. We all went up to my pal Steve’s mom and dad’s place. I believe that the fishing trip only consisted of one trip to the lake to fish. The rest of the time was spent by campfires drinking beer and telling stories.

My best friend had quite a few that night and when we all went to bed I could hear him getting sick. I chuckled about this at the time, but when I woke up in the morning and found that he had puked in my shoes, it wasn’t so funny.

The actual fishing was fairly disappointing. These fish were fairly tiny. I think Jeff pulled in the biggest fish of the day, and it was nothing to write home about!

Fishing with my boys

I’m not sure why, but I only went fishing once with my sons. We went to a small lake near the house.

They were excited to go, but once they got there, they got bored quickly. I instantly remembered feeling that way as a kid. I would cast into the lake and want a fish immediately! I didn’t want to just sit there waiting.

When a fish finally did bite, they were so tiny, they could have been used as bait!!

It has been forever since I went fishing. As a matter of fact, that fishing trip with the boys was the last time I went. I’m sure that if I opened up my tackle box, it is probably a mess. I don’t even know if I still have my fishing pole. I may have to go out the garage to see if my pole is still out there.

All I need now is a few friends (one of them hopefully with a boat) and a day off to go fishing….I’m long over due to drop a line in the water. Where’s my bobber?

What a wacky dream…

Dreams are funny. So was mine last night.

The above is the cover of a journal you can buy off Amazon to write down your crazy dreams. I have often thought about keeping something like this on my bedside table. I actually had a weird dream last night and wrote it down. As you know, you have to write those things down almost immediately or you are gonna forget them.

I looked back over what I wrote and it is just bizarre. So much of it doesn’t make sense at all. It makes me wonder why I dreamed about these things and the people in it. The dream itself is an unstructured mess. There were so many things, I wrote them in a hurry, because I didn’t want to forget about them.

There is really no beginning of the dream. It starts in my house and my grandpa (who passed away in 1994) is there and he wants to take a shower. He can’t figure out how to use body wash, so he is standing in the hallway in a towel asking for a bar of soap.

As I am getting the bar or soap, the doorbell rings and it is my friend, Margaret.

In the dream, I know she is coming over to baby sit Ella. I talk to her through the speaker on the doorbell and say, “Be right there you Old Bastid.” As soon as I say that, my phone rings.

I answer it and my old boss from Honey Radio, Richard D is on the phone. We often called him the “Old Bastid” at work. I answer the phone and that’s exactly what he says to me, “Uh, I believe that I am the only one worthy of the title, “Old Bastid” and he starts laughing. I’m not even sure how he knew I said this!

Now, I am in the kitchen. I’m making pasta for the boys. I am also aware that I need to hurry because I need to leave for work. My son, Dimitri, looks at me and tells me not to use the sauce I used the last time I made pasta. This in itself is weird, because he doesn’t eat spaghetti sauce. I asked him what sauce he was talking about and he pointed to a jar of salsa!

I am suddenly aware of the time and know I have to leave. Sam is in the kitchen doing the dishes and I go to grab a cup of coffee. I notice that the coffee pot is not in its normal spot and ask Sam where it is. She tells me it is on the kitchen counter (which is literally spotless – so I know this is a dream!). I look at this new “coffee pot” and it looks like a humidifier!

It was PINK! Just like the one above. It has lines on it to show how much coffee is supposed to be in there. I am staring at this thing wondering just how in the heck I am going to make coffee. I don’t even know how to fill the dumb thing! I ask Sam to show me and I am suddenly aware that I am at my dad’s house. This counter isn’t ours at all!

I then notice I am holding an empty salsa jar (so I guess I used it again). I am going to go outside and put the jar in the recycle bin. As I open the door to the garage, I realize that I am now in my grandma’s garage. I know this because it has her old gold olds cutlass in it!

I will always remember it was gold with a white hard top on it.

For some reason, I am now laying on my belly in the garage looking for something that must have rolled under the car. I can see whatever is going on in the front of the house from the garage floor because the garage door isn’t open all the way.

So the dream ends with me laying on the garage floor, in my scrubs. I am watching Margaret and her daughter (my Goddaughter) and maybe her son, all climb into their car to leave. I am waving from under the garage door and then wonder who’s gonna babysit Ella, if she left?!

What a weird dream!!