Christmas Is Coming.

Part of the fun of Christmas is the anticipation of it. Looking forward to the big day the mystery ahead.

Also at 42 a big part of Christmas is looking back.

I know it is still a bit early but I found this picture of me and it had so many memories in it that I had to share it now.

The glaring thing in this slide is the Vikings hat. Man I loved that hat. I had the Vikings because I liked Fran Tarkington and it was before we had the Colts, Brett had the Dallas Cowboys hat and Chad had the Pittsburgh Steelers hat. I hope I can find a slide with them in theirs.

The next thing I noticed was the K-Tel fun Ski poles on the floor. This was a great toy. We had many a great run down the slopes on these. I know we never used them as they were supposed to though. I only remember tying them to our feet once, the rest of the time we just stood on them which was fine until we built the ski jump and had no skis to land on.

I also noticed the T.V. Cart with checker board underneath it, the Terrarium (lizard included) and Superman shirt.

But the last thing I want to comment on is the fireplace.

Look real close and notice that is is stuffed with wrapping paper.

I will leave it for the comments section to reveal how and who put it in there.

New Flash?

I am guessing that Dad got a new flash for the camera and is testing it out in this picture.

I think this is when we lived on Lexington Ave. and if I am not mistaken it is taken in the back playroom.

It is good to see Shari in it.

Chad is busting a gut (and his socks) and Brett is surprisingly sucking his thumb.

I also noticed the hippopotamus on the couch. I remember it being around for a while and if I am not mistaken Mom made it.

Set me straight Mom where are we and what were we doing besides smiling and hiding our eyes from the blinding flash?

What is going on here?

Here is a picture for us to use our deductive powers to decide what we are doing here.
I have concluded that this is in Nashville. I think we are on the corner where Hob Nob restaurant is and we are looking towards the court house.

I love the clothes that everyone is wearing. The date on the slide is June 1978.
You can see Brett and I and Chad is in front of Brett if you look hard.

My guess is that it is some sort of parade.

Look Alikes

I think Brett looks a lot like his son Kye here.

Some one send me a picture of Kye so I can put them next to each other so we can compare.

Canoe Tree

I haven't been to the back of Dad's property in a while but I think this tree is still standing.

We found it when Dad had first bought the property.

I remember Brett and I fighting off a Red Winged blackbird that had nested in the tall grass and then venturing across the creek to find this tree.

It was hollow in at least two places in its trunk but in one fork in particular it was split open. We said if it ever feel over we could easily make a canoe out of it and thus the name "Canoe Tree" stuck.

I can't tell who is all in the tree. I see Brett for sure but not sure on who anyone else is.

Big Tire

This is at Wright Paterson Air force base in Ohio.

A slide that has Niki in it and Chad striking a Sears catalog pose.

Calico Frog

This must be when the store was new.

I remember it well though. Macramé, spoon rings, the stuffed Olive, rocks in chocolate chip ice cream, no wrinkled crinkled waded up dollar bills, tax charts, if we didn't see you steal it God did, pet rocks, Rita, Jim Gerard show, water fountains, and toll painting.

Leap on and into the Calico Frog!

Twins? 2

Twins?

Back when I was taller than Brett.

Cousins 2

I saw these two cousins at a Mexican restaurant this weekend.

It looks like I am reading a comic off to the side, Star Wars I think.

Cousins

While thinking about Thanksgivings past I thought of my favorite Thanksgiving.

It was at our house and some cousins had spent the night with us while Mom and Aunt Carol prepared for the big day.
We had stayed up late and watched King Kong on T.V. but the most fun was the next day when we played football.

I just remember having fun all day, playing with the cousins and was sad when they began to leave.

Here are some pictures of us playing with the cousins (not all are Thanksgivings)

Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving.

I am now an adult and get to sit at the adult table instead of the back bed room as in this picture.

This is in the garage at our house. Nice Long John Silvers hat on Brett Gordon.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Smile

I saw this picture the other day of Brett's latest kill and thought, he does still look the same.

What do you think?

Butler Manor

Here is our very formal picture taken at the Butler Manor.
Chad proudly sports our crest as Brett strikes his best pose for us.
Jolly good show and all that rot.

The Artist

Here is our mother the artist.
She was very serious about her craft.

I have this painting hanging over my fireplace.

BasketBall

My kids have a basketball tournament this weekend in Anderson.

It is Friday night and most of the day Saturday. I know Brett's kids have basketball that starts soon as well.

So plenty of bleacher sitting for us. We have become our parents.

I think the games are harder on me now then they were when I played.

I sweat, get out of breath, heart pounds and I move around in my seat a lot because I am nervous. And that's just during the warm ups!

I wish I would have put that kind of effort into a game when I played, maybe I would have been better.

Hope the kids have a good year.

I haven't found any slides of Brett or Chad playing basketball but I did find some of me.
(I am the first born)

At first I thought these were fifth grade but the cheerleaders were from the middle school so it must be the sixth grade. (I smoked the kid on the jump ball!)

Can you name any of the other kids?

Fun House

The fun house in Cave City, Kentucky.

I think this must be a later trip but I remember the first time we went through it with Dad.

We had begged him to go because it said "Fun House" on the outside. Dad had tried to warn us that a fun house might be scary. We persisted and Dad took us through the house. Chad choked Dads neck while Brett and I clamped onto his legs giving him a good work out.

This photo looks like we were by ourselves and my guess is it is on our way home from a Florida trip because Brett is wearing a shark tooth necklace.

I have on a Spiderman shirt and Chad has a Campbell's soup shirt on. Brett has on a sports jersey but who is number 39?

Crazy Pants

I don't ever remember thinking about my pants when I was a kid unless I had had an accident.

You would have thought I would have been staring at them all the time as crazy as they were.

Lone Ranger

Being the older brother comes with certain privileges.

I got to do things first and pave the way for my younger siblings. I probably have more pictures of me or at least I am in more pictures. And I decided who would be who when my brothers and I would play.

This meant I was Batman and Brett was Robin. Chad was the bad guy we fought and tied up.
Brett and I even had some cool Batman moves.

We would stand back to back and hook our arms together, then I would bend over and pull Brett (Robin) onto my back into the patented BatKick position. ZAP! BIFF! BAM!

When we played Lone Ranger I liked Indians so I played Tonto and Brett got to be the Lone Ranger. I think Brett must have subtly suggested this arrangement though.

He got a cool gun with silver bullets and a cowboy hat. I got a leather loin cloth an a rubber knife. Sneaky very sneaky.

Fan Art?

Who would have thought our site would generate fan art?

It has and when I get any submissions or if the family has pictures they would like to post with their thoughts just email them to me and I will post them.

I know we would all like to see embarrassing pictures of my sisters in law (and my wife).

This fan art comes from an artist that goes by one name "Ike".

Enjoy!

Mom

Here are some of the many faces of our Mother.


Same as always, more to come.

Hi-C

Chad doing what he loved best. . . .drinking Hi-C.

Life before liter bottles and drink boxes. No twist off caps for us, we used a can opener.

We learned science without trying. Equal pressure was needed or you did not get Hi-C. So poke two holes opposite of each other or you will go thirsty.

We also worked on our arm strength buy lifting the behemoth can to drink without a glass.

Hi-C made us men. Poor kids today.

Free Cat

This is Dad at Uncle George's farm. George is on the tractor and his son Steve is guzzling some cold water.

Then there is Chad.

We helped Uncle George put up some hay that day. The bailer dropped the bails on the ground and Brett and I worked hard to keep up with Dad and Steve placing bails on the wagon as it moved through the field. Chad rode on the wagon and I remember George giving him a hard time for not being able to lift a bail.

At the end of the day as he thanked us for our work, he told Chad that for all his hard work he had earned a free barn cat.

I can still hear Uncle George laugh.

Sadly Uncle George is gone but I think of him often. I have many good memories at his home.

I am proud of him serving in the Marines and post this in his honor on Veterans Day.

Thanks Uncle George and all who have and are serving our country.

A Busy Picture

Not only is this busy because of the quilt wall but there is a lot in this picture that I liked as a kid.

First I deduced that this is Chad's birthday party because the toys being opened were all Chad's.

I am holding (coveting) a Star Wars landspeeder, the coolest of all the Star Wars toys we owned.

It looked like it hovered and flew across the kitchen floor great.

There is also a Hulk pick up truck model and two other toys I cannot make out.

I did have trouble finding Chad in the picture and am not sure who anyone else is in the picture besides Amy Arkenburg.

I also don't ever remember eating a single meal in this room. I remember it being a storage room and a T.V. room but not a dinning room.

I always liked the chicken coop board that hung on this wall though. It contained. . .

Fair ribbons, dolls (I guess Mom needed some space), a Ted's Best sign, the big number "5", Moms paintings, a picture of 1451 Lexington Ave., trophy's, a whisky bottle of Rip VanWinkle, a drawing of Bugs Bunny one of us made, a headline reading "Brett's sure bet with his bat", and my favorite "The Apple Head Guy".

Apple head Guy was made from a shrunken apple made to look like an old mans head. Mom made it and placed it on a wire frame body covered with overalls and a shirt.

He fascinated me. The longer he sat on our shelf the more real he looked.

I don't know where he went but in my mind he is probably roaming the Earth some where.

Double Bubble

It was Double Bubble time.

I think our crafty mother made these for us and the neighbor boy.

As you can see in the next picture the kids on the bus couldn't wait to find out where we got them. They are sticking their heads out of the window asking where they can get theirs.

Home made, so eat your heart out.

The Rock City Controversy

The Rock City controversy exposed.

There was some debate the other night concerning the age of Brett when he ate the "Rock City" flier while going over the swinging bridge.

This photo clearly shows he was young. (Comment on the exact age please)

The later slide is a recreation during a later trip.

I think when we viewed the slides from the first trip we noticed the missing corner and Brett confessed that he ate it while crossing the swinging bridge.

We can see in the slide that Brett is overly happy for him, the crossing of the bridge safely was a great relief to him obviously. Although Chad looks as though he has just finished eating something and is ready to burp. I just look mad that I am not in my usual position, in the center of the photo.

Here is the recreation picture.
Can you find Dad in this picture?

Burger Chef and Jeff

Here Brett and I are meeting the famous Burger Chef and Jeff.

As I get some goodies it looks like Brett is too cool for a Greg Brady look alike.

Not to be left out Here is Chad after enjoying a hamburger.

3 Boys

Here are the three boys.

Chad, I don't want you to think this blog is a place just to pick on you.

It does seem as I scan slides that you are generally doing interesting things.

As in this picture note the following things.

Slobber on the chin
your coat is wet from slobber
and usually the biggest grin

Bandit

Bandit, what a raccoon. It was cool watching him wash his hands and food.

I remember that he loved super sugar crisps.

But the memory I will never forget was him chasing us across the "log fence" that went across the creek.

Brett and I scurrying up the hill leaving Chad behind to fend for himself. I think Chad even fell in the creek, but I'm not sure.

Good old Bandit.