Summer's Here!

Happy first day of Summer!
Enjoy.

Yep, that’s me & my dad!

He’s the guy who told me I could be anything that I wanted to be, got me my first camera, showed me how to use it, & let me play in his darkroom when I was little.

Besides the darkroom, he had a real old-time printing press, (making me the only kid in school with personalized pink pads of paper!), beautifully restored a classic MG TF (with a rumble seat!), hand drafted his letters with perfect serifs, made me a stained glass window with a surf scene from a Surfer Magazine cover, had an encyclopedic knowledge of old movie trivia, diligently wrote to his congressmen back in the typewriter age, built a beautiful mother of pearl inlaid mandolin, surprised us all by writing his first novel a few years ago & sent me to art school.

Quite an inspiring guy. Thanks dad!

Happy Fathers Day, all!

Tree Down

I had a great big tree outside my apartment. 

It was huge, & old & wise,

& provided a home for many birds. It was beautiful. I enjoyed listening to it's leaves rustling in the wind, & I'd wake to singing birds in the mornings.

It was deciduous, providing sunlight in the winter, & much needed shade in the summertime.

I enjoyed the play of light it's leaves & branches created on my walls

& windows,
& looked up to it from my second story kitchen window while doing the dishes & cooking.

I woke up to chainsaws & chipper shreders instead of birdsong this morning.
It took several men about five hours to remove my friend the tree. 
I wonder how long it took for it to grow that big, & I'll miss it more than I can say.
Thanks for all the comfort & pleasure you provided, my friend the tree.