Throwback Thursday

     On this day in 1903 the Wright Brothers made their historic powered aircraft flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
     And no, that's not Bill Crider in the background.

Today's Cartoon

     This is for my daughter Kristine. She'll know why.

Remembering John

It was 35 years ago today John Lennon was murdered. I felt I lost a friend that day. Let us not forget when he meant to the world of music and the world at large.

Remember Pearl Harbor

    And if you don't remember it, look it up.

Happy Birthday, Kristine

     My baby girl is 25. Wow, where did the time go? I'm proud and relieved to say she has grown into a sweet, intelligent, caring, responsible young woman who will have a child of her own in about six months. Happy birthday, baby girl. I love you.

Compliments of the Day

Don't eat too much, turkey, and remember that punctuation counts.

That Time Already?

     Yep, today is Sofia's birthday. Five years and getting feistier all the time.

     Happy birthday, Baby.

Announcing

     This is my younger daughter Kristine and her husband, Jacob. They have given me permission to announce that they are expecting a baby at the end of May. We're all very excited, of course. It's too early to tell what gender the baby will be, but if it's a girl the name they're set on is Klara.
     This will be my second grandchild. The other, Sofia, is my girl Stephanie's daughter. She'll be five on the 24th.

     Also, please don't mention this on Facebook. I guess they're saving that for themselves. Thank you.

Throwback Thursday

Same one I used last week, and if it gets ignored again I'll use it next week. Comment, dammit!

Happy Birthday, Stephanie

My older girl Stephanie.  From this...                  

...to this. Still beautiful after 26 years.

Throwback Thursday

Annapolis, Maryland, 1950. I would be about 2 1/2 years old. Why I'm running around in the yard in my skivvies is anyone's guess. 

Throwback Thursday

     The Servidio Sisters plus one. This is my mother and her sisters sometime in the 1930s, plus one woman I can't identify. Upper left is Sylvia, upper right is my mother Gloria, and lower left is my late Aunt Peggy. There was a fourth sister, Nancy, who died when she was 12 from polio, but I doubt she's the fourth member of this group.
     Sometimes they spell their name Servideo, sometimes Servidio, and no one seems to know which is correct. The translation is roughly Serves God, so I prefer Servidio.

Friday's Throwback Thursday

Thursday of last week my granddaughter, Sofia, went to her first day of pre-kindergarten. I'm happy and relieved to report that she loves it. Here are some pictures from that first day.

Lining up outside.

                                                 Her beloved FROZEN backpack.

                                            With mom, almost time to go inside.

                                               A stop at the indoor play area and bathrooms.

                                             In Room 12, awaiting breakfast and a fun day.

Throwback Thursday

In 1999 my girl Stephanie was really into Sailor Moon.

Throwback Thursday

The first LouieFest at Cheney Stadium, Tacoma, WA. I forget what year but it had to be about 2000. The goal was to have 1,000 guitars play "Louie, Louie" at the same time. Our guest conductor was Paul Revere, of Paul Revere and the Raiders. The turnout was around 750 guitarists, but it was fun and subsequent LouieFests had increasingly falling numbers. I was with Dave "Evan" Lewis and Brian "Tough Jim" Trainer. You can't miss me. I'm fifth from the right in the front row wearing a white t-shirt and bluejeans. Okay, me gotta go now.

Throwback Thursday

     When I was in the 595th Engineer Company (LE) in 1967-68 we had a mascot, a burro called Le. Le was pronounced Lee. The LE in our company designation stood for Light Equipment. How a mass of bulldozers, graders, scrapers (90,000 pounds), flatbed trailers, 5-ton dump trucks, and many more could be called "light" is beyond me. One guy told me it was because our crane had a maximum lifting capacity of only 20,000 pounds.
     Anyway, Le was kept on a long tether at an abandoned company area across the street from ours and alongside a small aircraft runway. He was mean. A sergeant who was assigned to feed him had to run for his life if he got too close to Le. Maybe the burro objected to being left in the 120-degree sun without companions all day. Who knows? In the bio I read on line he was credited with being friendly and living at the motor pool. Maybe that was before I arrived.
     Eventually, Le was shipped back to the States and ended up living the good life at Fort Riley.
     My clearest memory of him was that he made Spec-4 before I did. He made sergeant when he arrived at Fort Riley.
     In 1969 he was discharged to a farm in Kansas where he lived a long and happy life.

Throwback Thursday

     The Moops. A premiere shadow band from Portland and Tacoma. Members are, from left to right, Dave "Evan" Lewis, Cap'n Bob Napier, and Brian "Tough Jim Gaston" Trainer.

Happy Anniversary

Two years ago today my girl Kristine married Jacob Jorgenson. The rest is legend.

    It's also the anniversary of the moon landing. Remember that?

Belated Birthday Wishes

My older sister hit the big Seven-Zero mark on the 15th and I was too wrapped up in apa hacking to note it. It's a good thing she doesn't read this blog--or any blog for that matter. Let's see if I can find a photo.

     That's her in the middle with me on the left and cousin Georgie on the right. I'd date this about 1951.

Throwback Thursday

     My daughter Kristine and her boyfriend, Jacob. The occasion was a high school dance, perhaps the prom.  I'm guessing this was around 2009. They have been married for two years, now, and are doing well.

Happy Fourth of July, America

One Retro

One Modern

Throwback Thursday

     On this day in 1937, Amelia Earhart, with navigator Fred Noonan, disappeared while attempting an around-the-world flight.

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.