things my dad taught me

· the love of photography

· how to throw a wicked curveball

· the zen of watering the lawn old-school (with a hose) at the end of each day

· behind every good person, there is probably a terrier

· you can play the clarinet and be really good at math and still be cool

· quiet perseverance

· the best scent on a man is soap and water

· sharing a good laugh is just as connecting as a hug or kiss

· take your lunch to work

· be religious about good dental care

· when you are troubled, take a walk

· there is absolute beauty in the tide pool

thanks dad.  you're the best.

my dad

I inherited my smile and my dark stare from my dad. he also gave me (a wee motormouth) permission to be quiet and full of thought. as an engineer, he is patient, logical, meticulous; attributes I'm finding more and more useful in life. he taught me how to throw a baseball (he was a professional player), the love of photography, the joy only a dog can bring to a human and the identity of every sea creature in the tide pool. he showed me what it means to keep a commitment. he was my first example of cool: the man drove a '61 corvette, played jazz saxophone and was the Twist King of California (or something like that). but never too cool or aloof to refrain from obligatory dad jobs like playing the cake walk at the castro lane school carnival or carrying a traumatized child through Scream-in-the-Dark (and proffering the subsequent apologies to the man in the gorilla costume after said child's vicious assault on the gigantic scary monkey).

thanks dad, for being an excellent father. happy fathers day.

thanks mom*

for doing such great things as indulging my weird need to always have my ponytail on the side, even though you knew I looked like a total goober. you allowed me to be different, and I cherish this always.

happy mother's day to all!

(hey look, sam is posing like a perfect gentleman and not showing us all his business!)

weird childhood

this is my mom being kissed by shamu at sea world circa 1972.

she was chosen from an audience of about 200 to have the pleasure of a two ton giant get intimate with her.

everyone was laughing and clapping as the trainers led her up to the platform. I was petrified and could barely move or speak. shamu cranked up the entertainment quotient by circling his tank several times, building anticipation, before pulling his massive self up out of the water and planting one on my mom.

it was over in an instant. my mom was led back to her seat to wild applause. my dad was practically falling over himself in the hilarity of the moment. I was just relieved that she was safe, would still be my mom, and I wouldn't have go through my life explaining to people that my mom's head was eaten by a killer whale. I finally cracked a tiny smile that eventually exploded into uncontrollable laughter. and I thought, "she is so brave."

happy easter

easter sunday was a big deal in my family. we did the whole shebang every single year: new outfits with gloves of course, church, egg dyeing, hunting eggs in the yard with a basket, ham and green bean casserole. here we are in 1965: mom, dad, scott, baby me and sam the dog (nice butt, sam!).