Topographic



A previous prompt (lyrics) inspired a tribute to my mother. Today is Dad’s turn. When going through and organizing family treasures recently, I stumbled upon Dad’s army stuff . . . this manual on map reading, his ration stamp books, uniformed photos, memorabilia from Hawaii, postcards, letters, and more. My family is one that, across generations both maternal and paternal, saves EVERYTHING. Being an only child, I am the repository of all family memorabilia, and I am most definitely carrying on the family tradition of hoarding (er . . . saving) stuff.

This was an interesting experience delving into Dad’s military experience. I remember him  speaking of Pearl Harbor and his time in Hawaii, but the details mentioned in this letter from a friend of his who served with him provide an interesting picture of his time there. 


Though I have treasured artifacts, I wish I had spoken with him more about this time in his life. 





I do remember him playing his ukulele.





This last photo is a particularly treasured one. Love you and miss you, Dad.









Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Happy Couple . . . Meow 🐈‍⬛🐈

Image
Meet the Happy Couple . . . Meow 🐈‍⬛🐈 Cleaning the garage is a chore that we’ve put off for as long as possible, but it did ultimately yield some interesting finds. One of those finds, wrapped in crumbling tissue paper was this little wedding cake topper. Made of crepe paper and wire, the poor couple, headless and drab, definitely needed a new life. They’ve been sitting on my art table for a couple of weeks now, waiting patiently for their makeover. My guess is that their original heads were made of fabric or canvas. (I can hear the Queen of Hearts yelling, “Off with their heads!”) : The closest vintage cake toppers I could find were these  ($60? Good grief!): Because the tag at the bottom indicates that these were bought in Springfield, Ohio, my guess is that they were on Mom & Dad’s wedding cake in 1944. Now that‘s vintage!!  Drawing faces just ain’t my thing, so the poor couple just hung around, waiting, for a long time, as I tried to teach myself to draw. Then, this ...
Read more

New Blog; New Beginnings

Image
  Nearly three years have passed since I last wrote a blog post. Setting up this new blog, I never expected to encounter such a seemingly insurmountable obstacle right off the bat. . . naming the blog. Having tried nearly 28 creative names and finding them all unavailable, this was the first one to stick. So, this is it, and here it goes . . .  The arts have always been a part of my life, thanks mostly to my father who insisted that I play the violin in elementary school and encouraged me to always give school projects some sort of artistic flair. I guess a part of that mentorship was due to his background in music and art. As a gifted artist, sculptor, and industrial designer, he was an amazing role model and our house always had a plethora of varied art supplies. My journey towards art, however, has been a delayed one.  Having abandoned my music major in college, I turned to education. The last couple of years of my 35-year career in public education, I discovered jewe...
Read more

The Anatomy of Collage

Image
The Anatomy of Collage  I’ve dabbled in all kinds of art in my life. All kinds of mediums. Each one has its own mysteries and rewards. In the past couple of years collage has interested me.  Friends have asked and I have even asked myself - Why just cover up a layer with more layers? What’s the point? Tonight I realized the beauty of collage. I can only explain by showing. As I used to tell my students - show, don’t tell.  So I will show. Gather materials   Layer one: Reflection, Contemplation Breathe. Ponder. Write. What thoughts come to mind at this moment? I am taking an art workshop with an artist named Taire Smith on this day, Juneteenth 2024. Her focus today was Harriet Tubman and her acts of bravery. What better time than now, in these troubled times, to recognize and celebrate such bravery. Feels good to express these thoughts. (I forgot to take a photo of just my writing.) Then grab some pens and play. Breathe. Scribble. Let out bottled up emotions. Be wild....
Read more