Saturday, June 15, 2013

Dad's Day & the Moments



Time flies…I know, an old saying but still rings true. Here we are at another Father's Day so it’s not unusual that I am thinking about my dad and how integral a part he played in me becoming the person I am today. Corny, I know…but if you’ve followed any of my blog over the years you’ll know that there are several posts in which I talk about his talents and how I was lucky enough to share many with him.


The pix here is one of my favs and it stands framed, nestled among many tiny treasures in my home. Judging by my age, my guess is that the snap was taken in 1949 in the backyard of the little house my parents lived in at the time I was born. That’s my brother who is a tad more than three years older than me. I imagine that my mom was the photographer that day. I love looking at old pix and trying to figure out the psychology of all the players. Both my brother and my dad look a bit overwhelmed while I look happy as a clam. Hell, I imagine at that point in time, I was the center of attention…the newness of me had not quite worn away. Also, judging from my dad’s tan, it must have been in spring or early summer – he worked in construction for twenty-eight years and was outdoors on many of those jobs.



As a kid, I always thought it was cool that my dad built buildings. While he didn’t really build the entire building, he did install all the big heating and air conditioning systems in commercial buildings throughout Southern California. It’s weird the things we remember from our youth. While on a class field trip to the Los Angeles County Museum, my dad popped over while the class was picnicking on the lawns surrounding the museum. You see, he was “building” the then new sports arena complex that was just across the street. Pretty cool. While I was in high school I did a bit of fashion modeling and my agent at the time was in the California Mart downtown Los Angeles. It just so happened that my dad had “built” the original Cal Mart building; and then in 1964 or so, was working on the adjoining building at the same time I was modeling in the showrooms. It was fun, I would meet up with him for a quick bite to eat or just a passing “hi.” 


Odd how many of my childhood memories are tied to my dad’s jobs. I remember once being very sick as a really young kid and it taking forever for my dad to drive all the way home from Chino where he was “building” the women’s prison. Yikes. As a pre-teen I remember him calling us at home in the evening during his lunch time. He was working swing shift type hours at the Space General facility in the south bay and that was the only time he had to talk with us during the day. A funny memory -- while renovating the UCLA Medical Center, I think there was a time when some monkies in one of the labs got loose and were in the air conditioning ducts. Did I make that up? Gosh, I don't think so.


Anyhow, not sure where I am going with all of this, which is usually the case in my blog posts these days; but I think it has something to do with the fact that the things we remember in life are much more of the ordinary activities. The moments…not so much the years or the big events. That being said, I just want to take a moment to thank my dad for all that he did for us as a family over the years. While he left this place in 2001, there is no doubt that his spirit and energy goes on. Not to sound maudlin, but events in my life over the last few years showed me that his choices were probably not always the easiest; but he did what he thought was right and the best for us and I will forever be grateful for that. I love you dad. oxo

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