Looks like a scary forest to me. Dad's part looks kind of scary to me too. I can't say I remember him wearing his hair that way.
I do remember those cool hats though. You can tell they are new because you can still see the ball on top of Brett's hat.
These fell apart quickly because when you got on the bus the other kids would swat at them. Sometimes the kid in the seat behind you would pull out a strand or two before you could catch him. I think we ended up cutting them off ourselves.
Friday night Mom and Dad hosted a camp out for the grand-kids. I initially said that the boys and I would camp out too but it turned out that Friday was one of the hottest days of the year. So sleeping in a tent did not sound to fun to me. We just stayed until after midnight and then went home.
The front yard that was nothing but grass when I was growing up was the forest for the camp out Friday night.
Here are the other cast of characters.
This was to be the girls tent. Was is the word for it.
Very nice camp grounds.
We did some fishing and the mosquitoes did most of the biting.
Though a few people caught some fish.
Dad took us to his peach tree and we ate some peaches and took a bag full home.
We sang some songs with Paige doing the leading.
It was nice to sit around an open fire while the state was under a heat advisory. That is how we roll!
I heard that this was the way the night ended. Brett slept in a tent next to the fire while everyone else went inside.
I think we were just being goofy. It couldn't be for school because the slide says August 1982 on it and school didn't start until September. Good old days when you actually got the summer off.
Nice to see my first car too, a Datsun B210.
Yes those were our daily glasses. We were not trying to be Steve Urkel that was the style of the day. We were cool.
He says they love the Jeep. Which Gracie clearly did. Gracie is Levi's cousin.
Levi's other blonde is Hope. She was waiting for Levi at camp when Gracie was playing in his Jeep.
I don't know if it is the Jeeps that these girls like or if it is Levi's style.
I think he looks at pictures of Papaw on WMDS way too much.
All of these picture were taken in the same week. Notice that the week started with Levi having a beard and ended with him clean shaven. (Levi and Hope picture was taken last)
July 1973 finds us in front of somebodies grave marker. I can't remember whose it was or where it was.
We looked thrilled to be there though.
I did notice something while zooming in and around trying to read the tombstone.
I noticed Brett and I's sandals.
I don't really remember wearing these.
I do remember that they had tread on the bottom that reminded us of tire tread which made us think we could run as fast as a car. Which we could as long as that car was going pretty slow.
The reason I remember these sandals is because I remember loosing one of them.
We were coming back home form one of our many trips to Kentucky, or as Dad calls it "The Promised Land", and we had stopped to eat at King Fish.
King Fish was a usual stop for us because it was on the bank of the Ohio River, it looked cool and was about halfway home. King Fish looked like a steam boat. It even had a moat around it that made it look like it was a floating restaurant.
We never went inside to eat because it cost more and it was too fancy for sweaty, sleepy kids.
Anyway. We had just gotten back on the main road and I was doing a shoe count and noticed that I had only made it back into the station wagon with one sandal.
I hoped that I was wrong and that it was one of Brett's that were missing but he had both of his his on.
Dad reminded me how much they cost and that I hadn't had them that long and I cried all the way home because I lost it.
It always bothered me that I lost it.
Until King Fish restaurant moved across the river to the Indiana side I would always look for that lost sandal in their parking lot.
I always imagined some kid walking around Louisville wearing my sandal wishing I would come back and lose the other one.
Climbing your way to success was much easier as a kid. Work hard, push through the pain and then ring the bell. Not so much now. Who you know plays into it way to much for my liking.
That was 1979. I am not real sure where this was taken or who is in it for that matter.
It looks like me for a while and then it looks like Brett. So I am not sure. I will have to deffer to Mom to clear up my foggy memory.
Tuesday morning the 6th, My actual birthday, started out with the boys and I hauling off the Ford Probe.
Actually it was more than just the Probe.
We disassembled and jamed in the Probe a washer, dryer an electric stove and in the gaps we put soup cans.
I have a little bit more room in my garage now!
Before we towed it to the dump Levi wanted to shoot it to make sure that it was good and dead.
I couldn't find any real argument against it but Elaine wasn't to gung ho about it.
Levi wanted to shoot the engine. I wanted to be able to tow it, steer it and be able to stop it from time to time on the way to the dump so I told him he could shoot it through the door.
He was disappointed but settled for this compromise. I did ask that he didn't break the glass but after towing it on a 90 degree day with 100 percent humidity and not able to roll down the windows I wish I would have had him shoot out the wind shield.
Joel got our outside dog, Sam, out from behind the car.
This is actually his second shot. He shot so fast the first time I didn't have time to get the camera turned on.
You can tell in the video that he is still mad about not being able to shoot at the engine. He has this Russian assault rifle that he bought as soon as he turned 18 and he wanted to shoot something big. Can't blame him but I wanted to be able to safely tow this thing away then and not later.
Nice grouping.
Inside the door.
The passenger seat.
Levi looking for as much ripped metal as he can find.
Megan had to get to work so we had to get moving.
Joel made me wear a motorcycle helmet while I steered the towed Probe. I got quite a few strange looks but the first time the tow cable yanked and the top of the stove jammed against my helmet and then a washer side hit me on the side of the head I was thankful for Joel's foresight in safety.
Sweat was pouring of my elbows on the way to the dump and the car smelled wonderful.
Levi towed me with his Jeep and Joel followed us in another of our fleet of Jeeps.
It was an adventure but we got there safely and now I have a little bit more space in my drive way.
When we got back from Cincinnati the boys and I went to a local fireworks store and went looking for some deals.
They were running a buy one get one free sale with some being buy one get three free. My nephew, Blake, negotiated a buy everything at 50% off deal at the store he went to.
We then went to Mom and Dads where Blake, Brett, Joel, Levi and I put on our annual "Nine Fingers Firework Show!".
Preshow safety meeting. It says here "Light fuse and run away." Everybody got that?
Some last minute fuse finding.
It was a lot cooler in person.
We enjoyed it.
Ohh! Ahhhh!
Blake had a great one for the finale. It lit up the whole back yard and sounded like a machine gun going off.
No injuries and only one close call. Good thing the humidity was around 200% or my parents would be short one barn.
It was this goobers birthday.
Mom lighting candle(s) and Tracy telling Blake he can buy more fireworks next year.
Levi and I looking at some old Polaroids.
Elaine and Joel anxiously awaiting the first piece of cake presentation.
My Dad liked photography as a hobby and his family made for interesting subjects to capture on film or should I say slides.
There aren't many pictures with him in them so I titled this blog "What my Dad saw".
The rear view mirror header I think summes it up well. I remember Dad saying "I am gonna take a picture of what I see every time I look in the mirror".
This is my families history, thanks for coming and enjoy.
October 1978 is the date on the slide.
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